


Crossing Boundaries

by aj_linguistik



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Aincrad is Real AU, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, And that one-sided attraction is poor Eugeo, Bisexual Kirito, Cait Sidhe! Sinon, Dark Elf! Eugeo, Dark Elf! Kirito, Dark Elves, F/M, Forest Elf! Asuna, Forest Elves, Imp! Yuuki, Implied Sexual Content, One-Sided Attraction, Pregnancy, Royal! Asuna, Star-crossed, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-01-31 09:10:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21443755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: The war between the forest elves and the dark elves that has lasted for hundreds of years led to unpleasant biases between the two groups. It's taboo for them to have friendly relationships. Kirito has been drilled on this since he was a child: the forest elves are bad. They're his enemies.So what's a guy to do when he's found the perfect partner on the other side of enemy lines?
Relationships: Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna
Comments: 41
Kudos: 78





	1. Lovers in the Forest

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So, I was talking to- nevermind who I was talking to, I'm going to have a gay crisis if I go on that train of thought. I was talking to someone the other day and noted I had this kind of Romeo and Juliet fic from ages ago that I'd written for Kirisuna where Aincrad was a real place and Kirito was a dark elf and Asuna was a forest elf and...yeah I thought I burned this document. AS IT TURNS OUT, I only obliterated about half of it. So, this is OLD. Something old I wrote. But. For my love. I shall post this here (with a little minor cleanup!) and perhaps continue where I viciously chopped off and burned the rest of the fic. 
> 
> (Don't ask, I'm a dramatic man sometimes...)

A fog sat heavy over the ground, blanketing it so that unless one knew their way through the forest, there was no telling where one might end up. Those unfamiliar with the land would be wise to stay indoors in such weather; getting lost wasn’t the only danger in this place. There were natural enemies, predators, which would enjoy nothing more than a nighttime traveler for a late evening snack. The spiders of the region slunk out after the darkness started to fall, waiting for their next meal. They cared not whether one was of the forest elves or the dark elves or even if one was simply a human—a careless wanderer of any species, on either side of the war, was just as good of a dish as any other bipedal stupid enough to be alone at night.

It’s perhaps a bit prideful to suggest I was above such a precaution. I knew my skill level with a blade, and I knew how to handle the spiders. After all, I’d been sneaking out here, across the borders from my land into theirs, for quite some time now. The spiders, while a significant threat, were a far less terrible way to go than being caught by the forest elves in my opinion. A spider couldn’t interrogate you. I’d rather die in the mandibles of those beasts, my secret lost forever, than to be caught in the act by light elf guards who might torture me until I explained what I was doing in their lands. More importantly, they would ask why I was with _her_.

I’d left my own border an hour before, while the sun was just beginning to dye what skyline we could see from this low floor of the great castle with a pale orange. Now, as the day had come to a close, the fog had come, urging me to turn around and go back. I grimaced and chose my steps carefully. Spiders tended to rely on movement, not on sight. Eight eyes must have made focusing on one thing terribly difficult. Still, they would sense me well before I might sense them. If my sense of direction wasn’t being affected by this fog, I would be at the designated place soon, without having to fear for the spider attacks. She always called me to a safe place, protected by the ancient magic of her people. It couldn’t reach me until I made it to her, though.

“Kizmel meant well, warning me not to wander off on a day like today,” I grumbled.

I rubbed my eyes and squinted through the fog. The she-elf in question, along with her late sister, Tilnel, were in service to my queen. It was clear that Kizmel cared about me, but she never pried. She didn’t know where I was going, although it was clear that she suspected something was up. When letters came to me from outside of the borders of the land, being carried by a human friend, it was hard to pretend like nothing was happening. I often stated that it was simply that I had formed a written relationship with some of the human boys. Kizmel must have been more perceptive than that.

A branch snapped to my left. I whirled around, sword at the ready. There was a hiss, and then out from the fog skittered an eight-legged, eight-eyed menace, it’s eyes glinting red and it’s mandibles dripping with saliva. The spider came about up to my knees in height. I let out a shout and shoved my sword forward, catching the beast in its throat. It coughed, trying to scamper backwards to dislodge the blade from its mouth. I yanked it away and swung a wide arc, landing the sword into its soft abdomen. With another shriek, the spider submitted to its abrupt end and curled in on itself. Frowning, I pulled my sword from its body and wiped it on the grass to clean it before returning to its sheath.

“Sorry, pal,” I said to it, smirking a little. “There’s a lady waiting for me.”

I doubt the spider, which was now deceased, actually cared.

“And…I’m talking to a dead spider…” I sighed.

Rolling my eyes at myself, I kicked the body of the spider, rolling it a few feet away from myself. I shook my head and continued through the forest.

My destination was a barely used royal cabin in the forest elves’ territory. It made me ponder about the social standing she possessed. What ranking could she possibly have that gave her access to the vacation cabin of the king and queen of her people? Several theories raced through my mind. She might be a friend to the throne, or she might be a girl of noble birth who the crown prince had his eye on. She might be a family member of the royals, or—dare I think it—a direct member of the royal house herself. The way she spoke, however, was so gentle and caring at times but rather sharp at others that it hardly brought up the image of a royal in my mind. My queen was always smooth-tongued, never letting her temper loose.

This girl was different. When she was bothered by something, she showed it.

I made my way into a clearing in front of the cabin. I scanned the area for unfamiliar faces before quickly dashing to the door. With a deep breath to calm myself, I raised my hand to rap on the door when it slid open to reveal her smiling face.

“What took you so long, Kirito?” she asked, raising one eyebrow in jest.

“Eh, ran into a spider again,” I said with a shrug. “Naturally, he was no match for me.”

“They are pretty weak,” she agreed.

“About a year ago, you would’ve hid behind me and screamed for me to kill it,” I said, laughing as she puffed up her cheeks in irritation. She grasped the collar of my shirt and yanked me inside, sliding the door shut behind me. “What? You would have.”

“But then again, if you hadn’t come along, I wouldn’t know how to fight like I do now,” she said, pursing her lips. “It’s true.”

A year ago, I had wandered well past the boundaries of my own nation and stumbled across a fair maiden not too far from our current location. Her chestnut brown hair was loose and flowing down her back, and her clothing looked too formal for someone out in the woods. She had a rapier in hand and was trying to swing it at the trunk of a rather thick conifer. No one else was in the vicinity. I’d watched her struggle from a distance, noting that she was a light elf and that I shouldn’t be anywhere near her.

Yet here I was, twelve months later, visiting her every three weeks consistently. How in the world could such a thing have happened? I’d only taken pity on her poor sword skills and stepped out to help. She hadn’t wanted my help, of course; she’d put up quite the fuss at first, especially since she knew I was a dark elf. Finally, she let me speak, and I offered to show her a few exercises that I was taught in my training to guard my queen. She eventually admitted that because of her status in light elven society, she was not allowed to learn how to wield a weapon of any sort. Thus she accepted my private training and set the rules for when and where we should meet. What had started as simple training with a sword and rapier slowly evolved into something more intimate. A few months prior, we’d shared a short kiss. Now, we’d quite forgotten about the swords. Our private meetings were no longer to teach her fighting skills—they were secret love affair. Today was only different in one respect. It marked the anniversary of our meeting.

“Your clothing is a little damp,” she observed.

“The fog’s pretty thick today,” I said. She hummed in response, then pulled me closer by my collar so that our lips met. Her lips were moist and soft against mine. I could feel the heat of embarrassment in her cheeks. She pulled back a little and pressed her forehead to mine. “Is everything okay?”

“Follow me,” she said quietly.

Turning on her heel, she took wide steps through the hallway with such an air of command that I found it comparable to my own chief’s behavior. Curiously, I slipped my shoes off and left them by the door, and then I followed her on bare feet. The royal cabin was rather long. I daresay it was eerie with just the two of us in it; no sounds could be heard save for the swish of our clothing and the thudding of our bare feet against the wooden floor. She stopped at a set of doors along the longest hallway, glanced over her shoulder nervously at me, and then slid the two doors in opposite directions. I watched her disappear through them without blinking.

I went to them and stared out of them. These doors led to a hot spring outdoors that was sectioned off by different parts of the house and a rather tall fence. She walked over to the left side of the pool and grasped at her dress as if pulling more of it to cover her chest. Her face was cast down at the ground and her cheeks were a bright red color. I opened my mouth to ask what had her acting so strange, but to my shock she suddenly, yet elegantly, undid her dress and let it fall to the ground. My own cheeks flushed red; she wore nothing beneath that single dress.

“A-Asuna,” I stammered.

Without looking at me, she stepped into the water and slid down until just her neck and face were visible. Then, she glanced over me, still blushing, and pulled all of her hair to one side in her hands. I was frozen, unsure of what to do. Up until this point, I had never seen her without clothing. Our private love affair had been exchanging kisses between telling stories, and the most intimate we’d ever been was cuddling as we fell asleep. I swallowed, unsure of myself and what to do in that moment. Her eyebrows knit together in slight irritation.

“Y-you, too!” she exclaimed. “It’s…it’s embarrassing being the only one!”

“O-okay!” I said.

I started to awkwardly pull my armor and clothing off. She’d just been wearing a light dress; I, on the other hand, was covered with all sorts of miscellaneous articles meant to protect myself from spider or treant attacks in the forest. In my nervous state, I ended up tripping a little over my sword and sheath when I went to remove the last layers of my clothing. I heard Asuna giggle a little at my awkwardness. Perhaps seeing me all worked up and flustered put her mind at ease. She wasn’t the only one completely nervous.

Finally unclothed, I understood why she’d hidden herself in the water. I stepped into it as well, feeling relief from the heat against my bare skin. Like Asuna, I sat down as far as I could in the water, subconsciously to hide my exposed body. However, she slowly shifted herself so that she was closer to me. I didn’t react, out of fear of angering her, until I felt her hand brush against mine beneath the water. I turned to look at her, red in the face, to see that she was shaking a little.

“W-we don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable,” I said, stammering a bit.

She grasped my hand gently, wrapping her slender fingers around my palm and squeezing it. Without warning, she leaned over against me, resting her head on my naked shoulder. I was receiving rather mixed signals from her. She then removed herself, grabbed my arm, and turned her face towards me, her eyes staring down at the water.

“No, I said I wanted to try,” she said, her voice wavering. Her cheeks turned a brighter shade of crimson. “It’s just…I’ve never done this sort of thing before…”

In my anxious state, the only reaction I could manage was to laugh. Asuna gave me a weird look, so I cleared my throat and put my hand up.

“S-sorry. I just…I’ve never done this, either. Here I was worried that I was upsetting you or maybe making you feel like you had to do something you didn’t want to.”

Asuna seemed surprised at this revelation.

“Y-you’re a virgin?” she said.

Again, I laughed in the most awkward way.

“Well…yeah,” I mumbled, though there was no reason to be embarrassed about it.

We both fell silent, probably equally pondering how two persons who had never once performed intercourse had decided to try it for the first time with one another. Then again, that was how it was supposed to work, someone had once told me. It just so happened that a lot of men tended to have experience where the women did not. I wasn’t sure where that logic came from, but that’s how my friend had put it to me. I considered then asking Klein later where he got such information.

“So at least we’re both equally nervous,” she said.

“Yeah.”

Biting her lip, Asuna picked her hand up out of the water and reached over to cup my cheek in her palm. She pulled me over to her and pressed her lips into mine. We shared a few kisses before finally embracing. Her skin was smooth beneath the water. My mind was lost in the moment. I just did what felt natural. I think the same went for her. Then again, we both had our doubts.

“Do…do you think we should have done this inside?” I murmured.

“Hmm?”

“Ah…nothing.”

Her back was pressed up against one of the rocks at the edge of the hot spring. She pulled me back against her, kissing me again. I decided to put the doubts in the back of my mind. All that mattered in that moment was that we were together.

It made me forget for a moment that what we were doing, at any rate, was extremely risky. She was some kind of noble in her country, and I was a royal guard in mine. If we were caught associating with one another, the consequences would not be light. At least on my end, it could be assumed that I was acting as a spy and traitor to the queen. Punishment could be as simple as jailing, but could also be as serious as a death penalty. It would depend on what they assumed my connection to Asuna was and why it had been formed.

“Hey, you! Get your filthy hands off of my lady!”

I slowly lifted my face up to find an arrow inches from my forehead. Holding the arrow knocked in her bow was a rather angry looking Cait Sidhe woman with teal hair. Her feline ears were laid flat against her skull and her eyebrows were knit together. My mouth dropped open as I thought of something to say in response. Before I had a chance to formulate a response, Asuna pulled me back against her and turned to look at the other woman.

“Sinon, wait!” she said.

“Who is this dark elf scum?” the other girl growled.

She kept her arrow pointed in my direction. Asuna stammered a bit, but the intruder was impatient.

“Your highness, our duty is to protect you from your father’s enemies; whatever this dark elf wants, you can’t give it to him!”

“Sinon, what’s all the fuss out here?”

I leaned over a little to look behind the Cait Sidhe to see another intruder—an imp girl with dark purple hair and ruby colored eyes. She glanced over at myself and Asuna and her face turned a bright shade of red, immediately understanding the situation. Covering her eyes, she turned her back quickly and began stammering.

“L-lady Asuna, I-I didn’t know you had a-a visitor!”

“He’s no welcome visitor here, he’s a dark elf, Yuuki!” the Cait Sidhe exclaimed.

“B-but h-her m-majesty seems to be e-enjoying his presence here!”

“Yuuki!”

Instead of focusing on their argument over whether or not I was welcome, I instead chose to harp on the two phrases that had been used in reference to Asuna by these newcomers. The Cait Sidhe, I had been sure, had called her “your highness” and the imp girl had most certainly just said “her majesty.” I gave Asuna a rather bewildered stare and swallowed.

“Um…you never mentioned you were a…royal…” I mumbled.

“A-about that!” Asuna said, laughing nervously.

“Of course, she’s a royal, you dirty dark elf!” the Cait Sidhe hissed.

She paused for a moment, relaxing her bow.

“Then again, as a _dark_ elf, you wouldn’t know how to tell, would you?”

I shook my head. Of course I didn’t know that sort of information.

“They don’t permit anyone but the royal family and their attendants use of this cabin, outsider. The princess comes here for her own reasons, which she won’t even…discuss…with…”

The bow dropped lower. Understanding and hurt filled the Cait Sidhe’s eyes.

“Asuna…as your best friend and loyal attendant…why would you hide him from me?” she asked.

“Because he wasn’t the original reason I came down here!” Asuna defended.

It was true. I felt no hurt in that, since I knew that she came here to practice with her sword.

“I’ve been sneaking out here this whole time to learn how to defend myself. One day he just happened across me and started offering to help…”

“Right…_help_,” Yuuki offered, snickering a little.

“Oi, I’m right here,” I grumbled.

“Put your clothes on, both of you,” the Cait Sidhe ordered. “I’m not letting him out of my sight until I can prove that he’s not a spy for the dark elves’ queen.”

With that, both the Cait Sidhe girl and the imp girl returned from whence they came—back into the royal cabin. Asuna and I shared a look, equally shocked and embarrassed at having been caught in the act. Red-faced, we removed ourselves from the hot spring, dried off, and then slipped back into our clothes. Before heading into the house, Asuna came over to me and wrapped her arms around my torso, embracing me tightly.

“I won’t let her hurt you, Kirito,” she said softly.

Her eyes looked rather sad.

“Please…please don’t stop coming to see me because you know I’m the princess. I know it’s risky for you. I know it’s basically treason, but—“

I cut her off with a kiss.

“I couldn’t care less what your status was,” I told her, though deep down, I knew she was right.

But now that I was aware of the fact that I’d been intimate with my queen’s greatest enemy, a royal from the light elf nation, I knew that I would have to lie to protect our love.

“So long as you don’t care about mine.”

Her eyes opened a little wider.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just a guy of common birth,” I said with a chuckle.

Her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Though I thought you were aware of that fact. I’m just a royal guard who was selected for skill. I had to work up to that position.”

“What for?” Asuna asked, but she was quickly interrupted by her angry attendant.

“Both of you! In here! Now!”

“I think we should listen,” Asuna suggested, grabbing my hand and dragging me back into the cabin.

The Cait Sidhe and the imp were waiting for us in a common area. We sat down side by side and faced them. They were two very different persons as far as personality went, even without knowing who they were. The imp was leaning back into her chair comfortably, not too bothered by the situation. The Cait Sidhe, though, was pacing, her tail flicking back and forth in irritation.

“State your name, dark elf scum,” she insisted.

“Kirito,” I said.

“Is that it?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah.”

“He’s of common birth, just like us,” the imp girl pointed out. “No surname.”

“Yes, I get that!” the Cait Sidhe hissed.

Asuna cleared her throat.

“The Cait Sidhe girl is Sinon. She’s come from another nation as my attendant and guard. The imp girl, Yuuki, has done the same. Sinon is very skeptical of people she doesn’t know, so forgive her for being a bit edgy.”

“Edgy?!” Sinon exclaimed. “You were having sex with this man I’ve never seen before and on top of that, he’s a dark elf! Have you lost your mind? Your father continues a war with the dark elves that has gone on since before Aincrad was separated from the earth below and you just decide to get into bed with one of them?”

“It’s…it’s complicated!” Asuna said.

“In what way?” Yuuki asked, smiling a little. “It seems rather simple to me. You said he offered to help you train with your sword or something, right?”

Asuna nodded.

“So, it started out as something innocent and slowly blossomed into feelings for one another. Seems perfectly normal to me, at least.”

“Don’t help them!” Sinon interjected.

“I’m just saying,” Yuuki said with a shrug. “It makes sense.”

“How long have you been sneaking out to see her?” Sinon asked, directing her anger back towards me.

“About a year,” I said.

Lying would get me nowhere at this point, especially considering Sinon had caught us in the act. The poor Cait Sidhe girl looked as if she were about to faint.

“Well, overall, it’s been a year. We only started pursuing an intimate relationship a couple of months ago. And this is the first time it’s been anything other than kissing or cuddling.”

Sinon looked as if she were about to implode.

“You mean had I caught this sooner than today, I could have protected her from losing her virginity to a piece of dark elf crap like yourself?”

“Hey, that’s a bit uncalled for,” I said.

“Sinon, do I even get a say in this?” Asuna interrupted. Sinon froze. “I get that for whatever reason you don’t like him, but you only just met him. You don’t know him like I do, and yet you’re assuming he’s not worth my time simply because he’s a dark elf?”

“He coerced you into performing intercourse with him,” Sinon said.

“No, I asked him to come today with the specific intent of, as you so politely put it, ‘performing sexual intercourse with him,’ Sinon,” Asuna said.

Yuuki snorted a little and hid her face. Sinon’s face had turned a bright red, betraying her fury.

“Because I fell in love with him, Sinon! You don’t have to understand it at all, that’s just how it is!”

I thought that this time, truly, Sinon’s words would come out as a scream. Instead, she took a deep breath, let it out ever so slowly, and closed her eyes. She placed one hand over her heart and waited a moment before speaking. Yuuki watched her with a curious expression, just as anxious to know what her response would be as Asuna and I were.

“Your highness, need I remind you that you’re betrothed?” Sinon asked flatly.

My eyes immediately snapped onto Asuna’s form. She refused to make eye contact with me and stared down into her lap. It had been one taboo thing to have relations with a royal and another taboo thing to have them with a girl from the nation my queen wished to annihilate—but it was something far more taboo to have discovered that I’d violated a preordained marriage. Even though the two were not yet husband and wife, I had still interrupted their relationship. Sinon must have noticed my internal discomfort.

“That’s right, _Kirito_,” Sinon said hotly. “You’ve committed an offense against the next king of our nation. If he finds out you’ve stolen his wife-to-be’s virginity, it’s all over for you and for her. Even if you manage to convince me, there’s no convincing Prince Oberon of Alfheim. He’s a rather jealous individual who won’t take lightly to you sleeping with the crown princess he’s vowed to marry.”

“I refuse to marry that bastard,” Asuna said darkly. “All he cares about is my body. He won’t respect my right as the heir to the throne to rule my nation!”

“Nevertheless, you can’t just escape this arrangement, nor is this the point of this conversation,” Sinon said, clearly annoyed. “Your little commoner boyfriend needs to get lost and never see you again. You’ve already put yourself at enough risk by letting him steal your innocence—Oberon is certain to notice that.”

Silence fell over the room. Even Yuuki couldn’t defend us there. I looked away, staring at a spot on the floor away from everyone. It would be a lie to say that I hadn’t thought about the consequences of my actions.

Asuna reached over and grasped my hand. She squeezed it tightly and turned to lock eyes with Sinon. The Caith Sidhe girl narrowed her eyes, challenging Asuna to say something. I squeezed her hand back and waited for her to speak her mind.

“Sinon, I’m tired of my parents just running my life like this,” she said. “I don’t ask that you like it, agree with it, or even support it on a personal level. Whether you and Yuuki approve of it or not, I’m going to remain in contact with Kirito. And I’m going to continue to meet up with him outside of the knowledge of my parents. If you choose to betray my trust and tell them, so what? I made this decision and I’m going to stand by it.”

“A-Asuna, are you sure about this?” I stammered.

“Of course, I am!” she said, turning now to me.

She grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me into a kiss. Sinon let out a sigh of disgust; Yuuki whistled, amused. Asuna sat back and pressed her hand to my cheek. Her eyes were glossy, betraying how she was holding back tears.

“I don’t want to ever stop seeing you…I don’t care what happens to me.”

“I just want you to be safe,” I told her gently.

I didn’t want to upset her anymore. I wrapped my arms around her and embraced her.

“If I’m a danger to you, I don’t want to be the reason something happened.”

_It’s already happened once, _I refrained from adding.

Sinon gave me a curious glare. I think she knew, deep down, that my change in tone after hearing about possible danger to Asuna was not just me acting on heated emotions. While she could never have known the circumstances, she knew that this wasn’t the first time someone close to me was in danger, and she knew that it hadn’t ended well.

“If you refuse to stop seeing me, then I want you to promise me that if something happens, you’ll do whatever it takes to protect yourself,” I told her quietly, so that neither Sinon nor Yuuki could hear it. Asuna nodded into my chest. Her hands clutched tightly my shirt. “Your safety takes priority over everything.”

“So long as you protect yourself, too,” Asuna whispered back. “You promise?”

“I promise,” I said.

That day, we had decided that nothing would stand in the way of our secret love. As much as she hated it, Sinon reluctantly agreed to protect her lady’s secret for as long as it was necessary. I left the cabin that day with a conflicted heart, overjoyed that I had spent time with Asuna, but also heavy with the dread that this, just like with Sachi a handful of years before, would end in complete and utter disaster.


	2. Trusted Confidant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Not sure how many chapters I will just be like 'yup, okay!' and post. There's a plot point that runs the story but I have to *literally stop this habit of mine* oh gosh. Well. Since it's old I might just roll with it. We shall see.

Some time passed, and all seemed to be going well. Our private meetings would occur about every three weeks, and they were always confirmed by letters we sent through my human friend Klein and his baby sister Silica, who periodically delivered letters between the two sides in hopes to find a means of forming a peace treaty. While it baffled me that humans only were so quick to help when talk of peace arose, I appreciated that my bond of friendship with the red-haired man was strong enough that he could assist me in my affair.

One morning, around the third hour after midnight, I was making an unplanned hasty retreat back to my homeland after a not-so-pleasant run-in with Sinon. Normally, I waited until Asuna was dead asleep to depart, but I wasn’t in any mood to be challenging the angered Cait Sidhe girl. I had dashed out while Yuuki laughed, shouting a sarcastic word of encouragement for me to escape her wrath in one piece. I’d grabbed my clothes and armor and was putting it on as I ran. Eventually, Sinon stopped chasing me, unwilling to cross the border as easily as I did. I kept a decent pace nonetheless, making sure that I made it back to my home in a timely, and quiet, fashion.

My home was deep within the dark elf territories here on the third floor of the floating castle land of Aincrad. In order to get back, I had to sneak past quite a number of guards, but by now I was used to doing such a thing on a regular basis. My main concerns about slipping in at this hour were that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that my roommate sometimes was still awake at this hour. I hoped that he was fast asleep, unaware of my trek out of the nation, but then again, there was no telling with him.

I crept back into my home through my window on the second floor. Our home, since joining the royal guard, was on the second story of a sort of barracks for soldiers of the queen and their families. Climbing up to the second floor was no problem regardless, and I made it up swiftly and silently to the window ledge. I slid carefully to the ground, turned around, and yelped when I saw a light being held in my face, dangerously close to my nose. Staring back at me, with tired yet irritated green eyes, was none other than my best friend and fellow royal guard, Eugeo.

“Ah! What are you, uh, doing up so late?” I asked.

Eugeo’s expression changed ever so slightly, returning my question without a word.

“Right, I do suppose that you might ask the same of me. I was just—“

“You’re covered in sweat,” Eugeo noted.

“It’s…I was out doing some late night training, that’s all,” I said.

He looked me up and down. He couldn’t exactly tell me I was lying, since I was dressed completely in combat gear. It was a precaution, since I had to travel so far in the middle of thick, fog-filled, spider-infested woods. Finally, he squinted his eyes and pointed at my waist.

“You didn’t buckle your belt,” he said.

“What!” I exclaimed, in a hushed voice, so as not to wake my mother and sister, hopefully asleep in their nearby room.

“And your tunic is on backwards as well,” Eugeo said.

He looked up at me, unamused.

“I wonder what had you in such a rush that you did that.”

“N-nothing!” I defended.

“You’re lying,” he said.

He jabbed a finger into my chest and blinked twice.

“You can say you aren’t all you want. I know you too well. Your eyes are giving it away. You weren’t out training, that’s for certain.”

I swallowed. I wasn’t exactly up for telling him that I’d been chased out of the enemy’s royal cabin by an angry Cait Sidhe who was only angry because she had walked in on me and the forest elf princess having sex. I’d made a hasty escape, pulling my clothing on as I ran. There, of course, was no actual need to do that; Sinon was just testy like that and scared the shit out of me. Her threats might have been out of anger, but who was to say that she _wouldn’t_ shove an arrow up my nose until I bled my brains out of my nostril? I scratched the back of my head and frowned in thought.

“Kirito.”

“Yes?”

“What were you doing?”

I sighed.

“Look, if I have to cover for you for something outrageous again, we’re both going to get kicked out of the royal guard for sure,” Eugeo said, staring down at the floor. “We worked really hard to get here…to get to where we are now. I don’t want us to lose all of that because I refuse to let you go down on your own.”

Eugeo spoke as if he had an obligation to defend my honor when I did something out of line. I frowned and looked at the far corner of the room, feeling guilty for making him feel this way. We had, as he’d said, fought harder than we imagined possible to attain our positions as royal guards despite our low social standing. We’d nearly lost it in the incident where I managed to get an entire squadron killed—yet Eugeo had boldly defended my honor, stating that I had fought bravely in the end to try and save them. I personally didn’t find it redeeming; all of them had died, each one screaming my name for help; Keita, Tetsuo, Sasamaru, Ducker, Sachi. Five casualties. All my fault. While my offense this time was by no means worse than the self-blame for their slaughter, the consequences of two major infractions would severely taint my record. Even Eugeo couldn’t protect me from this.

“You don’t need to protect me,” I said, sitting down on my bed and sighing.

Eugeo’s eyes were once again trained on me, skeptical.

“I’m not asking you to, either.”

“You don’t get a say in whether I do or not,” he said, setting the lamp in his hand down on the side table between our beds.

He sat down next to me in my bed and narrowed his eyes at me again. I tugged at the collar of my shirt and turned to look at the wall.

“Kirito, how hard is it for you to just trust me with this?”

I sighed.

“Do you _really_ want to know what I was doing?” I asked.

“What kind of question is that?” Eugeo grumbled.

I shrugged and gave in.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but seriously—this is something that, as you pointed out, could get me in a LOT of trouble.”

“Of course, it is,” Eugeo said, running his hand through his hair.

He leaned back on his hands.

“It’s always something potentially problematic with you, you know. Why can’t you form hobbies that don’t get you into trouble?”

“Because, well, it’s not…I wouldn’t call it a hobby, per se…”

“If it’s not a hobby, what else would it be?” Eugeo asked.

“A relation…ship…” I said awkwardly.

Eugeo looked as if he were about to choke on the air he was breathing. There was no need to explain to him that my sneaking off probably entailed certain things he didn’t want me citing with any specificity at that point. Then again, without knowing that I was literally crossing a national border to engage in this relationship, he would come to certain other conclusions, like—

“So…you’re sweaty because…you…were…with a girl…then…?” he managed.

“Okay, that’s part of it, but you’re missing quite a lot of details,” I said smugly.

Eugeo choked again, this time most likely at my candor.

“She’s not exactly from around here. So, I go quite a ways to meet up with her.”

“Like, to another floor?” Eugeo asked, giving me a sideways glance.

“Eh, no,” I said, shaking my head.

His expression changed into a puzzled one.

“This is why my actions are a bit on the risky side. The girl I’m meeting up with isn’t from dark elf territory at all. She’s not even a dark elf.”

“She’s…not?” Eugeo repeated.

I shook my head.

“No. She’s a forest elf.”

“ARE YOU INSANE?!”

“Shh!” I quickly hushed him, motioning to the door.

No matter how insane he thought I was, my mother and sister were still sleeping nearby. He covered his mouth for a moment, and we waited in silence to hear if anyone was up. When we decided that no one had been awoken by his outburst, he removed his hands and mouthed ‘sorry.’

“I…still, I repeat my former question—are you insane, Kirito?”

“Maybe?” I replied with a shrug.

Eugeo dropped his shoulder and rolled his eyes. I swallowed, already knowing that he disapproved of my choice in significant other.

“Okay, well…there’s…uh…there’s something else…”

“What do you mean ‘there’s something else’? What could be worse than you being in bed with the enemy?” Eugeo groaned.

“She’s _kind of_ the crown princess…”

“_Kirito_!”

“H-hear me out!”

“No! I will not ‘hear you out,’ what in the world do you think you’re doing?” Eugeo asked, grasping me tightly by the shoulders. “You said ‘risky’ like it might be potentially dangerous, but this…this is more than just _potentially dangerous_. She’s going to become the queen who is in charge of the people fighting us. Her goal is to get through us to defeat our queen. You’re going to not want to oppose her the longer you stay with her, you realize that, right? How long have you been seeing her? Is this recent?”

“I-it’s not recent at all,” I admitted. “I-I’ve been seeing her for, like, a year and almost six months or so…”

“And you’ve just been sleeping with her this whole time, then turning around and acting like you’re on our side?” Eugeo asked.

“Whoa, hold on, I haven’t defected for one!” I said, trying to defend myself. “I didn’t even know she was the princess until six months ago, that was not my fault!”

Eugeo gave me a stern glare.

“It started out as just me wanting to help her…she didn’t seem to know what she was doing with a sword, so I gave her a few pointers. This led to that and…”

Eugeo let go of my arms, stood up, and started to pace back and forth. I knew him well enough to know that even though he’d thrown out the possibility that I’d defected as an option, he already knew that wasn’t the case. He also knew that I tended to act on my feelings concerning people’s lives—I didn’t really discriminate between forest elf and dark elf when helping or harming someone. I had my moral code and I lived by it. Eugeo, however, wasn’t a rule breaker. While he knew what I would do in situations, he never quite understood the motivation.

“You could be executed over this, you know,” Eugeo finally said, stopping his pacing and staring at the floor.

I just hummed in agreement and nodded.

“Am I the only person you’ve told about this?”

“I mean, unless you count her two attendants, yeah,” I said.

Eugeo ran his hands over his face and groaned.

“Your girlfriend is the enemy’s princess.”

“Yeah…and trust me, when I found out, we had a discussion about how much of a risk we were taking just by being in the same room together,” I said.

He gave a short huff and threw himself down on his own bed. No doubt, he was probably exhausted in his own way.

“I told her I’d stay away from her, seeing as she was a princess and all. But she was pretty adamant. She didn’t want me disappearing from her life.”

I heard nothing from Eugeo’s bed. He rolled over and faced his back to me, indicating that he was indeed tired and wanted to sleep. I licked my fingers and reached over to put out the wick of the lamp. The fire was hot against my wet skin for a moment and then sizzled out in an instant. All that was left of it was a trail of smoke, coming towards me on its way out of the open window. I kept my eyes glued to Eugeo’s form. Aside from the rise and fall of his side from breathing, he wasn’t moving at all.

“Good night…I guess,” I mumbled, falling onto my back.

I stared up at the ceiling, willing my eyes to close. Despite my fatigue, sleep didn’t want to come. Turning my head back in his direction, I frowned.

“Hey…Eugeo…”

“Kirito, go to sleep.”

“Eugeo, were you serious about the protecting thing…?”

“Kirito, I said go to sleep.”

I frowned and turned back over to go to sleep. I supposed that maybe I had misheard him earlier and submitted to sleep at last.


	3. Risk and Outcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Fuck it, it happens so early and I'm not re-writing 20,000 words. I'm sorry. I did it again.

From where she was sitting, she could see Sinon’s stressed pacing in the hallway. Asuna bit her lip and frowned, unsure of how to deal with the situation. There was certainly no convincing Sinon that there would be a positive outcome from her relations with Kirito, but there had to be a way to keep Sinon from remaining in this outrage. She tapped her fingers against her lips and narrowed her eyes.

“Hey, pssssst…why are we hiding?”

Asuna jumped and looked over her shoulder, surprised at Yuuki’s sudden appearance behind her. Yuuki peered over Asuna’s shoulder, humming as she watched Sinon pace. She then turned her ruby-colored eyes on Asuna, betraying a playful smile that was hidden beneath what otherwise might be assumed to be a poker face.

“What did you do _now_, your highness?” Yuuki said, her poker face melting into a smirk.

What had she done, indeed?

Mere hours before, Sinon had once again walked in at the wrong moment; it had happened various times through the six months that she’d been engaging with her lover in a sexual manner—so often that it was partly expected that Sinon would forget Kirito was even there and walk in to either check on Asuna or bring something to her attention. Sinon had been in a particularly bad mood this time and had, quite literally, chased Kirito out of the cabin. She later reported that she “lost him at the border of the dark elf territory.”

“Sinon’s a bit pissed about a few things…” Asuna murmured.

Catching them in the act wasn’t the only thing the Cait Sidhe girl was livid about. In fact, comparatively, Asuna would have to say that it was barely even an issue at all where Sinon was concerned. She swallowed, trying to think of the right way to explain things to Yuuki, who hadn’t walked in twice on Asuna that morning, both times to discover something shocking.

“Let me guess—she walked in on you two again?” Yuuki said with a chuckle.

Asuna nodded and sighed.

“Boy am I glad it’s always been her. Don’t want to see that boy naked at all.”

“I’m not sure if you’re insulting him or me there,” Asuna said.

“Hey, we don’t all have the same tastes,” Yuuki said, her tone rather ambiguous.

Asuna raised an eyebrow.

“What? I’d _much_ rather see—“

“What?” Asuna asked.

“Nothing!” Yuuki said, laughing at herself.

Asuna rolled her eyes.

“So, Sinon is probably super tired of walking in on that. Maybe you should, I dunno, put a sign or something on the door? Like, tell her that you guys are gonna be in there doin’ stuff…”

If only it were that simple. Yuuki was still missing the point. Sinon wasn’t mad about walking in on sex. Half of her anger had to do with something completely unrelated to Kirito altogether. She’d had a run-in with a rather unpleasant figure in her life—a certain forest elf boy named Kyouji—and she was angry that instead of being able to take care of the situation herself, she’d crumbled into a panic and fled. Well, perhaps the anger was somewhat directed at the man who finally stepped in to get rid of Kyouji…when the forest elf boy had made a move to take advantage of Sinon’s panic, Kirito _had_ stepped in and dealt with the situation.

“I hope he _was_ poisoned by that stupid little pick…” Asuna heard Sinon muttering.

That led to the other issue. Aside from being jabbed with a pick under the ribs, he was relatively fine and continued his evening with Asuna as if nothing had happened. This, of course, irritated Sinon, which explained why she ran him out of the cabin. So when Sinon had returned, she made sure to wake Asuna back up and mouth off at her about how irritating Kirito was to her. Asuna had been ignoring this critique, of course, and that’s when it happened.

“If he wasn’t poisoned and doesn’t die from this, I will PERSONALLY wring his skinny little neck!” Sinon was being less quiet about her complaining.

Yuuki glanced at Sinon, then turned a worried glare towards Asuna. Sinon finally turned to face Asuna and put her hands on her hips.

“I’m serious, Asuna! I’ll wring his neck AND shoot a flaming arrow through his eye socket!”

“C-calm down, Sinon!” Asuna stammered.

“I refuse!” Sinon exclaimed.

“Whoa, guys, did something _else_ happen?” Yuuki asked.

Both Asuna and Sinon frowned at the imp girl.

“I thought this was just you being irritated about walking in on them doing each other, but you’re way too mad to be upset about just that.”

“She’s just mad that instead of being able to save herself, Kirito had to step in and help her,” Asuna said, hoping that would be the end of that.

“Oh, this is _so_ not about _that_, and you know it!” Sinon shouted.

She stomped over and grasped Asuna by the collar of her nightgown. Her frustration was evident; there were tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Asuna felt a knot of guilt building up in her stomach.

“Don’t you know what you’ve done?”

“I’m still confused…” Yuuki mumbled.

“When I returned from chasing a certain _asshole_ out of here, I came back to check and see how Asuna was doing,” Sinon said.

“And chew me out, even though she knows full and well that doing so is not going to make me stop seeing him…” Asuna added.

“Regardless, I came back and was just talking to her, and she suddenly just declares she’s sick and needs to go outside,” Sinon said, narrowing her eyes. “And of course, I followed her outside, where I find her spewing her guts out. Which wouldn’t be a problem, except that I know she’s been getting sick quite frequently lately.”

“Maybe making food by ourselves out in the cabin wasn’t the brightest of ideas,” Yuuki said, shaking her head.

Sinon looked irritated that this was the conclusion Yuuki had come to.

“What? It’s a fair assessment…well…wait. If only Asuna’s getting sick, then she’s probably gotten ill from something else.”

“She’s not ill at all, Yuuki!” Sinon exclaimed.

“Of course she is!” Yuuki protested. “If she’s puking, then she’s definitely sick.”

Sinon shook her head.

“Not sick. _Pregnant_.”

Yuuki’s expression changed almost instantly. Her skin turned as white as a sheet. It was as if the thought had never occurred to her. In Yuuki’s mind, somehow, that wasn’t even a possibility. She stared blankly into space for a moment, and then suddenly jerked her head around and stared directly at Asuna’s stomach.

“Is that…true?” Yuuki asked, her voice really quiet.

Asuna averted her eyes, but nodded yes nonetheless.

She was confident in answering yes because her period was already over a month late. There was the possibility that she’d just skipped that month at first, but when she should have been having her period at this moment and it wouldn’t come, there had been no denying that the uneasy stomach and the lack of a period were connected.

“Look, I know I stepped back and let you do whatever, prioritizing your happiness over what was safe, but this…Asuna, you can’t exactly hide this!” Sinon said, exasperated.

She pointed a finger at Asuna’s stomach.

“You might be able to hide it now, but soon, people are bound to notice! Are you just going to avoid seeing the king and queen? Avoid seeing Prince Oberon?”

Sinon groaned and grasped the sides of her head.

“And that! Your husband-to-be can’t cover for this one, you’ve never _once_ slept with him, and he’s not the type to go and claim a baby that’s not his! He’s too proud!”

“Sinon, it wasn’t intentional, and—“

“Of course, it wasn’t intentional, your highness!” Sinon exclaimed.

She pulled Asuna into a tight hug.

“I know you didn’t mean to, but Asuna…the risk was always there. You know that, right? The moment you agreed to sleep with him, the risk was there. You accepted full responsibility for whatever came from that action. I wanted to tell you not to do it with all of my heart, but I couldn’t just stand there and watch my best friend’s heart break, Asuna…”

Asuna wrapped her arms around the Cait Sidhe girl’s waist to return the embrace. In the end, it wasn’t even Kirito that Sinon was angry at—it was Asuna herself. She’d done something extremely risky, and her best friend was worried.

It wasn’t unfounded, either. Aside from the fact that her lover was one of her parents’ greatest enemies’ personal guard, there were other issues with the situation. For one, there was the issue of her betrothal to the overly jealous Prince Oberon of Alfheim. Oberon would never take this well—her choice to be with another man _or_ the fact that she was carrying his child. For two, even if somehow the matter was kept under wraps, everyone would know something wasn’t right once the child was born with some dark elf qualities. For three, nothing was going to change the fact that the child’s father was of common birth.

“We’ll figure something out, Sinon,” Asuna said.

“What, like, run away?” Yuuki asked.

“No,” Asuna said, shaking her head. “Running away just means that father will send people to come and find me. I just have to play it safe from now on. Limit who comes into my pavilion. What they don’t know can’t hurt them.”

“Asuna, I hate to be the voice of reason here, but even if you manage to hide your pregnancy, how exactly are you going to hide a baby?” Sinon asked, pulling back and frowning at her. “Babies are noisy and messy…you can’t just ask a baby to be quiet and clean so that you can hide from your own kingdom. Besides, what about the fact that the baby’s father is literally in another country?”

Sinon blinked a few times.

“Wait…does he…does Kirito know?”

Biting her lip, Asuna stared down at the floor.

“He doesn’t, does he?” Yuuki filled in for her.

Asuna shook her head.

“So, when exactly were you planning on telling him?”

“I…” Asuna started, but she trailed off.

She wasn’t sure. She’d avoided telling him so far to keep him from being overly concerned with her safety and the likelihood of their secret affair being discovered. Of course, if she kept seeing him, he would eventually notice. Frowning, she ran a hand over her stomach. Instead of answering, she made an unrelated comment.

“Well, I could be wrong, you know…”

“Are you just planning to wait until it’s kinda visible?” Yuuki asked.

“Well, I guess…no need to make him panic over nothing if it’s nothing, right?” Asuna said, shrugging.

Sinon and Yuuki both gave her a pointed look.

“Look, I know the circumstances and that it’s a high possibility, but, if there’s nothing to be concerned about, then there’s no need to tell him and get him all worried. I refuse to make him panic over nothing.”

It was a risk she had to take. There was a possibility that there was another reason she was sick; just like it was possible that she’d skipped two periods due to stress. She felt conflicted over the issue; she wanted to prioritize their safety as a couple, but at the same time, she felt a small amount of joy thinking about carrying his child. It was a strange feeling, she had to admit, yet the more she dwelt on the idea, the more it filled her cheeks with heat.

“I can tell by the look on your face, you don’t really believe there’s nothing to be concerned about at all,” Sinon said with a sigh.

“Can you blame her, though?” Yuuki asked.

Sinon gave her an irritated glare.

“Think about it—“

“I really don’t want to,” Sinon interrupted.

Yuuki rolled her eyes and walked over to Asuna, giving her a sideways hug.

“Look, as your faithful attendant and guard, I will do whatever is necessary to make sure you and your baby are safe, your highness.”

Sinon’s tail bristled, even more irritated than before. To tease the Cait Sidhe girl, Yuuki reached down with her free arm and jokingly patted Asuna’s stomach, making sure to give Sinon a wink in the process.

“I don’t like where this is going at all,” Sinon grumbled. “Do you realize how much trouble we’re going to get into? For all of this? For allowing Asuna to sleep with someone that wasn’t Prince Oberon? For defending her illegitimate child?”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take out of loyalty,” Yuuki said.

“Fine,” Sinon relented.

She locked eyes with Asuna. For some reason, Asuna detected quite a bit of hurt in her best friend’s eyes.

“But I cannot guarantee that if you do get caught I will defend him at all.”

Asuna swallowed.

“Your safety takes priority over his, your majesty. I’ll defend you to the death, but just know that I most certainly will not do the same for Kirito.”

“Understood,” Asuna said quietly.

As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that Sinon wasn’t lying. And it scared her.


	4. River Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thinking back, this fic was written before I wrote ANY of Vector's Lost Child. Shiiit. It's so damn old!

When I arrived at her cabin the next time, she immediately demanded I take her to the fourth floor to ride in the gondolas. She knew I had a gondola at my disposal, thus there was no getting out of this demand. I gave her attendants a cautious glance. Yuuki was quietly urging me to do it, while Sinon was shaking her head, clearly wanting Asuna to stay put. Sinon’s distaste for me had increased since the last time I’d seen her, and probably because she’d chased me out of the cabin last time for some unknown reason.

So I just agreed to take her.

Yuuki had insisted that Asuna would be safe with just me, so I took Asuna by myself to the fourth floor and snuck her to where the gondolas were docked. I had last docked my personal gondola in the humans’ safe area, mostly because I tended to use it outside of royal business. The boat had been built by myself and a fellow royal guard, Kizmel, and had been named for her deceased sister, Tilnel. Asuna didn’t really seem to care about the history of the gondola, though. She was too excited that she was near a gondola period.

“It’s beautiful!” she cried, clasping her hands together. “You said you and another guard made this?”

“That’s right,” I said with a nod. “Kizmel did the painting. She said I wouldn’t do it right.”

“She did a wonderful job—wait, she?” Asuna blinked up at me, as if assuming that since Kizmel was a girl that meant I had an interest in her somehow.

I waved my hands in denial.

“Kirito…”

“She’s just another person in the guard, Asuna,” I insisted. “She’s not a past girlfriend of mine or anything of the sort.”

“Would you tell me if she was?” Asuna asked.

“What, do you need to know about my past girlfriends and boyfriends?” I replied.

“_Boyfriends_?” Asuna repeated.

“Um….er…well…” I stammered.

Asuna gave me a weird look.

“Look, okay, I’ve had only one past girlfriend and maybe sorta a boyfriend or two but, honestly, they were _past_ love interests, that doesn’t mean I’m with them now.”

“And this Kizmel wasn’t one of them?” Asuna raised one eyebrow.

“No, my former girlfriend is…” I paused, took a deep breath, and looked away. “She died.”

“Oh…” Asuna said, sounding guilty for having pressured me to the point of saying that.

She shifted awkwardly and hummed a little.

“M-my condolences…”

It was my turn to feel awkward.

“Um, er…that sounds weird…coming from my current girlfriend about my former girlfriend…”

“Does it?” Asuna asked. “She was important to you, wasn’t she?”

“Well, yeah,” I said, nodding.

I offered Asuna my hand and she took it, putting her weight on me as she stepped down into the boat. I pulled her close and gave her a kiss.

“But not as important as you are to me.”

Her cheeks flushed red.

“I’ve never felt the way I feel about you with anyone else.”

“I-is that so?” she stammered, blushing harder.

I laughed and told her to take a seat. She sat down and steadied herself by putting a hand down on each side of her body.

“So, how far are we going on this little gondola ride?”

“I know a good spot by the shore that’s about twenty minutes upstream,” I told her.

It was a good thing the spot was upstream; I wouldn’t have to work as hard to get us back downstream when I was tired from rowing later. Asuna’s face lit up at the mention of a special location.

“Is this your first time boating?”

She nodded.

“I’ve never gotten to explore any of the other floors before, actually,” Asuna said, watching me with interest as I untied the gondola and pushed it off into the river.

I began rowing us up the stream.

“It’s not that I haven’t ever been on another floor; I’ve been several times for diplomatic reasons, but I’m never allowed outside to go and explore. This is my first time doing anything outside of the royal properties on any of the floors.”

“Wow…sounds like it sucks to be a royal,” I said, giving her a sympathetic smile.

“It really does,” she said with a sigh.

She frowned and pressed her right hand against her stomach. I found the gesture a little odd, but I didn’t question it.

“There’s just so much I am not allowed to do for myself. Like, I technically shouldn’t be protecting myself; if you hadn’t taught me, no one would have. Or…I’m not technically allowed to pick who I marry.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that…” I said slowly.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” I said. “It makes me a little nervous, knowing that your parents can just decide one day to marry you to this Oberon guy and I’ll never get to see you again…no, nervous isn’t the word. It makes me sad, imagining that. I’d much prefer it if I could just take you away and we could be somewhere by ourselves, without anyone telling us we can’t be together.”

Asuna knit her brow and clutched the fabric of her dress against her belly.

“I’m going to find a way around that.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“There has to be a loophole somewhere,” Asuna said.

Her grip loosened on her dress. She unclenched her fist all of the way, then smoothed out the folds of her dress over her stomach, stopping with her fingers spread out across her abdomen. I frowned. She seemed oddly fixated on her belly.

“Is your stomach bothering you?” I finally asked.

“Oh! Um…”

“Asuna?”

“I just, I think that somehow I can make our relationship work, even if it’s just as simple as breaking out of the arrangement with Oberon,” Asuna said, ignoring my concern.

She shifted a little, keeping her hand pressed tightly against her stomach. Perhaps she was a little seasick, but she didn’t want to admit it.

“If I am crowned the queen, then all I have to do is say the word and you can be mine. No one can question the commands of the queen, after all.”

“I certainly wouldn’t question it if you commanded me to marry you,” I said, giving her a playful smile.

She laughed and gazed out at the trees along the bank. I let go of the paddle with one hand and pointed at a small cove.

“There’s our destination, princess.”

Asuna kept her eyes glued on the spot as I worked on shoring the boat without knocking her over. I did give her a few warnings, but despite them, she still stumbled a little when the bottom of the gondola hit the sandbar. I couldn’t help but laugh a little when she turned around and gave me a sheepish grin. I stepped out of the boat and helped her down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she grasped my hand and pulled me out of the water and onto the shore.

“You’re absolutely right; it’s beautiful here,” Asuna said with a smile.

We sat down at the base of a large tree. I looked over at Asuna and my heart skipped a beat. The setting sun glimmered in her chestnut hair. I couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her then and there. She let me kiss her for a moment, and then she pulled away and ran her fingers through my hair. Her eyes were glossed over with tears. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, when she pressed a finger to my lips and then cupped my face in her hands.

“Just let me look at you…”

I closed my mouth. Asuna brushed my bangs out of my eyes and held them back with one hand. She laughed to herself and let them fall back down again. Her fingers ran across my cheeks, making sure to touch every inch of them. She crawled into my lap, straddling my hips with hers, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her body was warm. For a moment, she rested her chin on my shoulder, but then she lifted her head, turned it, and pressed her lips to my cheek.

“Is everything okay, Asuna?” I asked her.

“Mm,” she hummed, not really answering the question.

She suddenly turned over, resting her back against my chest and stomach, grabbed my hands, and wrapped them around her midsection. She then placed her hands on top of mine and squeezed them a little. Asuna then asked a question that made my pulse race.

“Have you ever thought about having kids someday?”

It wasn’t something I had thought about, but the thought instantly made my face feel hot. My brain immediately flashed images of myself and Asuna with a couple of children, sharing meals and having fun together. The thought was, to my surprise, extremely appealing. Of course, that was assuming that we could get out of our current predicament and be able to safely make a home together where we could raise a family. Asuna looked up at me and laughed.

“Goodness! Your face is all red!” she said, giving me another kiss on the cheek.

She stroked the back of my hand with her thumb.

“I-I guess that someday it would be…would be really nice to have kids…” I said, stumbling over my words.

“Oh? What were you thinking about just then?” she asked.

“W-well…just…I just…you know…thought about how nice it would be to…to specifically have kids with you…and…you know…um…” I stammered.

I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. Asuna laughed again.

“Why do you ask, when you know it wouldn’t be that easy for us to, you know, actually raise a family in our current situation?”

Asuna frowned and stared downwards at our hands. No, wait. She wasn’t staring at our hands. She was staring at what was _under_ our hands—her belly. I swallowed. It sort of made sense; she was fixated on children, of all things, and kept touching her belly. There was no denying that whether or not the circumstances were favorable, she definitely _wanted_ a kid.

“What would you do if we _were_ to have a kid?” Asuna asked quietly.

“That’s a really heavy question,” I said slowly.

She turned back over, pressing her body against mine, and clutched my shirt in her hands. Unable to contain herself any longer, she started sobbing into my shirt.

“A-Asuna?”

“I-I’m terrified!” she cried.

“Terrified for what?” I asked.

I gently rubbed her back. Maybe her father had decided that now was the time for her to marry her betrothed? Maybe someone was close to figuring out why she was taking frequent trips down to the cabin? Maybe Sinon was threatening to report our behavior to the king and queen, breaking the agreement that she would help to protect Asuna’s love out of her loyalty as Asuna’s best friend and attendant? She choked on a sob and coughed a little.

“Asuna did something happen? Is there anything I can do?”

“Isn’t there somewhere we could run away to?” Asuna asked, her voice wavering.

“Did something happen?” I repeated.

Asuna shakily pushed herself up and looked me in the eyes, tears streaming down her face. She grasped my head and pulled it down so that our foreheads were touching. Her voice was barely audible when she spoke.

“I’m scared of what will happen to our baby when my family finds us out…”

“W-wait…” I stammered. “Did you just…?”

She sat up and nodded. She took one of my hands and pressed it to her face.

“I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure, but…” she said slowly, staring down at her lap.

She flattened her dress against her belly again and bit her lip.

“It’s not very obvious, but I asked Sinon and she reluctantly agreed that I’d gained some weight.”

“We’re…going to have a baby…?” I asked, though it was more of a squeak.

Asuna laughed and hugged me again, nodding.

“Yes. You’re going to be a papa, now.”

She sighed.

“I just wish that…I wish that it was under better circumstances, like you said. I want us to be a real family. I want to be able to greet you every day when you come home. I want us all in the same place together. I want to be happy that this happened…not scared and worried.”

I reached down and ran a hand over her belly. She was right; it was hard to tell, but now that I really focused on it and thought about it, her stomach was a little rounder, even if it was just slightly so. My mind then fixated on two thoughts: there was, in fact, a baby growing inside of my girlfriend and I was that baby’s father. It was a weird feeling. Nothing physically had changed about me from not knowing this to knowing it, yet I felt as if something internally had changed forever.

“How long until…?” I asked, trailing off.

The question had sounded better in my head, but it just sounded awkward when I spoke it.

“Oh, a little less than six months from now,” Asuna said matter-of-factly.

Perhaps it hadn’t been all that awkward of a question. I went to ask how she knew, but she answered before the question was even formed on my lips.

“It’s not exact, of course. How could I be? I’ve just counted three skipped periods so far. Thus I know it’s been roughly three months.”

“Asuna, I have an answer to your earlier question, about what I would do,” I said.

“You do?”

“I’ll protect you, no matter who stands in my way,” I told her.


	5. Internal Conflict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I cringe at how old this is alsdkfajglajdgagk.

The next day, Eugeo, Kizmel, and I were posted at the main gate to the castle from dawn to dusk. It was hard to play off that I wasn’t tired from trekking back that night across the national borders, but Kizmel at least didn’t seem to notice. Eugeo, on the other hand, was more perceptive than I had hoped.

“Kirito, you’re more asleep than awake,” I heard him saying. “Don’t lean on your sword. It’s unprofessional. Uh…hello? Earth to Kirito…”

His words were barely reaching my ears. I felt as if my mind were in a daze. I don’t know what I should have been feeling in that moment. My plan for yesterday had been to take Asuna to a nice spot along the river, and then spend our time there. She’d wanted to see another floor outside of her father’s castles, so I’d arranged for us to visit the fourth floor and watch the sunset between the floors of Aincrad. Yet no amount of preparations I had gone through had readied me for what I’d learned. Asuna was pregnant.

“…Ki…ri…tooooooo…”

“Wh-what? I’m listening! I swear!” I yelped, dropping my sword.

Kizmel turned her head to give both me and Eugeo a stern glare. I swallowed and picked my sword back up, deciding that leaning on it was, as Eugeo had pointed out, a bad idea. Reaching over my back, I slipped it into its sheath and sighed.

“S-sorry.”

“Seriously, if you’re that tired, you should consider your bedtime rituals a little better,” Eugeo grumbled.

“Are you not sleeping well, Kirito?” Kizmel asked.

“I…I just stayed up later than usual,” I told her, putting my hands up dismissively.

What a lie—I hadn’t slept at all. I was too shell-shocked at finding out my girlfriend was pregnant to even consider falling asleep.

“Sleep is important for the warrior to remain vigilant,” Kizmel said, looking away from us again. “You would be wise to prioritize a good night’s rest over whatever else you might be up to, Kirito.”

“Just training,” I said.

Eugeo gave me a rather dirty look. He mouthed something that told me after our shift was over, he would be asking some questions. My behavior must have been more awkward than usual, since it was leaking into my work. For the remainder of our post, I focused on trying not to think about the fact that I was going to be a father and instead on the much more difficult task of staying awake after getting no sleep. Afterwards, Eugeo and I headed downtown to find some dinner, so we headed in the direction of a local bar and café that we frequented. We slipped in and ordered our meals at the bar. The bartender, a big, burly man called Agil, gave us our meals and then placed his hands on his hips.

“Well, I don’t know about you, Eugeo, but it looks like Kirito could use a nap,” he laughed.

Eugeo grumbled to himself and rolled his eyes, taking a large swig of his drink. Agil reached over and pressed a finger to my forehead.

“You awake in there, kid?”

“Uh? Yeah…” I said, yawning and taking a bite of my dinner.

“What is up with you today?” Eugeo asked. “Normally, after your little ‘escapades’ with your girlfriend, you fall asleep and wake up as perky as ever. Today you’re acting like you haven’t slept in your entire life.”

“I didn’t sleep too good last night,” I said.

I nearly choked on my food when I realized he’d openly mentioned what I had been out doing.

“E-Eugeo! I said not to tell anyone that!”

“You have a girlfriend again?” Agil said, raising his eyebrows. “What happened to your boyfriend?”

“It didn’t work out,” I replied grouchily.

“Yeah, he’s running off in the middle of the night for dates, how irresponsible is this guy?” Eugeo said, shoving some food in his mouth.

I frowned and crossed my arms. Eugeo swallowed.

“Oh, don’t even give me that look. You have a job to do, I’ve already told you that. You know where I stand on this. That’s final.”

“I…I have a job to do…” I mumbled.

I stared down at my lap. There were now two meanings to that for me. I had a job to protect my queen at all costs, but now I also had to protect my girlfriend and my child. The two jobs didn’t exactly support one another. If I sided with my queen, I was betraying Asuna’s trust. If I sided with Asuna, I was betraying my queen’s trust. I didn’t want to lose standing with either of them when it boiled down to it.

“Agil, have you ever felt so conflicted over something that it made you unable to fall asleep?”

“Yeah, it happens to the best of us,” Agil said, nodding. “My wife and I felt that when we bought this establishment. We didn’t know if we should start a business or not. It was throw away our life savings and try to succeed or stay where we were, unhappy with our daily jobs. We were so conflicted because we wanted the safety of familiarity over the risk of failure, but at the same time we didn’t want to be stuck in that rut forever. So we took the risk. And it turned out all fine.”

“But is taking the risk always the right course of action?” I murmured.

“Hard to say,” Agil hummed. “Why do you ask?”

I clenched my knees tightly and shut my eyes. Was it worth the risk to keep hiding my relationship? Was it worth it to out us and try to maintain our love in front of everyone? Was it worth it to run away, abandoning everyone? Running away would mean I would never see Kizmel, Eugeo, my sister, my mother, Agil…ever again. I didn’t want to say that I wasn’t that dedicated to Asuna; I loved her more than I could ever express with words. But at what cost would loving her come? Just what exactly was I risking, and was I willing to lose all of it and never turn back?

“Kirito, you’re spacing out again,” Eugeo said.

“I just don’t know what to do anymore!” I blurted out.

Eugeo sat back a little, shocked at my tone. I swallowed, took a breath, and let it out slowly. I turned around, finished up my meal as quickly and quietly as possible, and then ordered another drink. Agil didn’t ask any questions. As I waited for Eugeo to finish his meal, I kept downing drink after drink. Either Eugeo was taking a long time to eat, or I was drinking too fast. It didn’t really matter. Eugeo finally finished up and hopped off of his barstool.

“Thanks for the meal, Agil,” Eugeo said.

He looked at me, who was draped over the counter pathetically. Sighing, he pulled me off of the stool and onto the ground. Everything started to spin in dizzying circles. Eugeo wrapped my left arm around his neck and held me up as best he could.

“Looks like I better get this drunk idiot home.”

“You have fun with that,” Agil laughed. “See ya around.”

Eugeo gave a curt wave and then walked us out of the bar. As we walked down the street, everything looked sort of fuzzy to me. He had to stop every once and I while to readjust his grip on me. We ended up stopping one time in front of the blacksmith’s shop. Eugeo groaned and switched sides.

“You can be the biggest pain sometimes, Kirito…” he sighed.

“Is that so?” I mumbled.

“Oi! Who let that moron have something to drink?”

We both turned our heads to see the blacksmith, Lisbeth, smirking at us as if she were up to something. She laughed and pointed.

“Eugeo your best friend has the stupidest grin plastered on his face right now. You should see it. It’s absolutely priceless!”

Eugeo turned his head to look at me and then started laughing as well.

“What?” I asked.

“She’s right, you have a stupid grin on your face,” Eugeo said.

He gave Lisbeth a wave and kept us moving. He called back to her.

“I’d stay and chat, but he can’t even stand up straight. Gotta get him home in his bed.”

“Alright! You both are due for weapon maintenance anyways!” Lisbeth shouted back.

“What stupid grin?” I whined.

“Ah, it’s gone now,” Eugeo said. “But you did. You looked…extremely happy about something. Which, there’s nothing wrong with you being happy, it’s just…I don’t think I’ve seen you smile that big since we were little.”

“Is that so…?” I mumbled.

I lifted my head up and hummed a little. I smiled, intentionally this time, and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Eugeo asked.

“I guess I really am happy,” I said.

Without any warning, tears started spilling out of my eyes. I slipped off of Eugeo and fell to the pavement, curling up into a ball on my hands and knees. Eugeo stooped down beside me and rubbed my back a little.

“Please tell me you’re not about to puke…” he murmured to himself. “Wait…you’re…crying…Kirito? What happened?”

I didn’t bother answering him then. I just let my drunken self vent all of my emotions right there. At least then, I had the excuse of being totally inebriated. I cried over my confusion at the situation I was in. Was it okay to trust Eugeo with this information at all? Was I going to have to deal with this alone? The love of my life was suffering in her own way, an entire nation between us. At least I could find comfort in knowing that she had Sinon and Yuuki by her side, to protect her from those that would do her harm and to comfort her when she was feeling scared, sad, or confused just as I felt.

Eugeo finally gave up and convinced me to get back on my feet. He said nothing to me for the rest of the way back to our home, and when we got in, he told my mother and sister that they should leave me alone, considering the fact that I was drunk and not in the proper state of mind to talk with anyone. He brought me up into our room and told me to take a quick bath. I did so. At the end, I came back into the room, my head still fuzzy, and I sat on my bed and stared out of the window as Eugeo took his own bath.

Eventually, he came back into the room and sat down on his own bed, saying nothing for a moment. He then got up and came and sat next to me, looking at me with a funny expression. I suppose he was trying to gauge if I was still drunk or not. I turned my head to him, revealing a tear-stained face for a second time this evening.

“I ask again…are you okay?” Eugeo said with a frown.

I shook my head.

“Not at all.”

“Do you want to talk about it at all?” Eugeo asked. He then added, “If you’re not too drunk, that is…if you can’t right now, it can wait, I suppose.”

“Eugeo…” I sighed.

I looked away from him again and stared out of the window. If I didn’t tell him, who else did I have to tell? I had to share the burden with someone besides Asuna. It was one thing for Asuna and I to deal with this; it was another to have support, even in the smallest of ways, from our friends. Right now, what I needed was that support, whether it was understood or not.

“I’m going to be a father.”

When I turned to see what his reaction was, I thought Eugeo was going to fall off of the bed in shock. He regained his composure and straightened up a little, staring down at the floor to avoid eye contact with me. I frowned and waited for him to respond before saying anything else. Eugeo bit his lip, as if searching for something to say. He finally opened his mouth.

“You don’t mean to say that you got the forest elves’ princess pregnant…do you?” he asked quietly.

“That’s exactly what I mean, Eugeo,” I said, sighing again.

Eugeo covered his face with both hands.

“She just told me yesterday. She’s been hiding it for about three months from everyone except for her two closest attendants. She’s scared of what will happen when word gets out that she’s having a baby, especially considering the fact that the father isn’t her betrothed husband.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, you NEVER said she was betrothed!” Eugeo exclaimed. “You went and knocked her up right before she’s to be married off? Oh my gods, you’re so dead…”

“Way to be the supportive best friend and at least try and help me feel less on the verge of death…” I grumbled.

He then wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me. It was odd, but surprisingly comforting.

“I can see why you feel so conflicted,” he said quietly into my ear.

He pulled away quickly, probably feeling awkward from the touchiness. He gave me a genuine smile, though, with teary eyes.

“You want to protect them—the princess and your baby. I’m glad that you have found your happiness with someone. If it comes to it, I’ll do whatever I can so you can be a good dad, okay?”

“Thanks, Eugeo,” I said, tearing up again.


	6. The Fairy Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As I close in on the part where I chopped it in half, I want to say that I'm going to change the original plot for a couple of reasons. The first was that my dumb ass originally killed off Kirito which makes no sense when he's a narrator. The second is that this is CLEARLY setting up Asuna to be a damsel and while the old me might have been chill with that, the new me is like *oh god please no.* I'll be diverting that course of action. After all, Kirito taught Asuna how to use a sword in this fic. She can handle herself.

It was her first trip to the main palace in a long while, but this time, it was different. Her father had summoned her, saying that there was something rather important they needed to discuss. She clutched her stomach and bit her lip. There were a few possibilities as to what her father was summoning her over; the only one she could imagine at the moment was that he’d discovered her secret love affair. Sinon grasped her shoulder and she looked up at her, unsure of what to say. She turned her head to look up at the door to her father’s throne room. Behind that door, her father was waiting to tell her something.

“If it is about your relationship with Kirito,” Sinon said slowly, “I won’t let him do a single thing to harm you. Then we’ll send word to him and escape. Got it?”

Asuna nodded numbly.

“Come on,” Sinon said, nodding at the door. “Let’s go.”

When Asuna didn’t move, Sinon frowned.

“Hey…it’s barely noticeable. I doubt he’ll even see it, if he’s not looking for it. He probably just has something political to discuss. You are the heir, after all, since your older brother ran off.”

“Right,” Asuna said softly.

Sinon and Yuuki pulled the doors opened and took small curtsies. Asuna took a deep breath and walked through them, casting a nervous glance at each of them as she passed through. They followed behind her, letting the doors fall shut. She picked her head up and held it high as she approached her father, who was quietly talking with one of his generals. When he heard Asuna’s footsteps, he quickly dismissed the general and turned to face his daughter.

“Ah, I was hoping you’d come quickly,” he said, standing up and coming down to greet her.

She gave him a curtsy and stood back up. He responded by bowing slightly in return.

“Walk with me out into the garden, Asuna. Oh, and leave your guards. I need to speak with you alone.”

Her father turned and went out of the side door. Asuna gave Sinon and Yuuki a worried glance, but from their reassuring smiles of encouragement, she smiled back and followed her father outside into the garden. When he noticed she had followed, he began to slowly walk into the garden.

“Was there something you needed from me, father?” Asuna asked.

“There’s the question of your betrothal to Oberon that needs to be addressed,” he said, not bothering to turn around and look at her.

Asuna stiffened a little at the mention of the second prince of Alfheim.

“While I have no intention of giving up the throne while you are still young and have much to learn, Oberon is insisting that if he were to marry you sooner, then he could live here and observe the politics of our country so that he can learn the ways of our people in order to be a sufficient ruler by your side.”

“S-sooner?” Asuna stammered.

“Yes,” her father said, staring out over the expanse of the garden and nodding slowly. “I have negotiated the terms of the marriage. You will marry him in three months, and in the meantime, he will live here in quarters near to yours. I chose this course of action because it will allow you time to get to know one another and become accustomed to each other’s presence. I would certainly like him to gain your trust.”

“Right…” Asuna said, staring down at the ground.

She shivered to think at what proximity to Oberon meant. If he was frequently around her, he would notice certain things—her disappearances to go and meet up with Kirito would be certainly questioned, and there was eventually going to be no hiding her pregnancy. It would be hard for her to express that she wanted to escape her marriage to choose her own partner.

“You will also be expected to make appearances with him in public both before and after the marriage ceremony is to take place,” he continued.

Her father turned to face her, clasping his hands together behind his back.

“You will both be expected to put on your best face for the people, of course. This isn’t just a trial period for your marriage, after all; it’s a trial period for your rule as king and queen.”

“Understood…” Asuna mumbled.

“You sound displeased with my decision,” her father noted.

She continued to stare down at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with him. The statement sounded like a trap. If she told him that she wasn’t, he would clearly know she was lying and suspect that something was up immediately. If she admitted it, she’d have to come up with a reason as to why she was displeased—and she’d have to decide whether she wanted to tell him the truth or not.

“I just…don’t feel ready…” she managed.

Perhaps this was a sufficient answer.

Her father placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into a stiff hug. Asuna tensed. He rarely ever touched her like this. It clearly wasn’t a gesture meant for comfort, but rather to imply that he was doing something fatherly. He placed one hand on her head and rubbed it roughly.

“You mustn’t worry yourself with whether you are ready or not,” he said, pulling back away from her. “I never once felt ready to ascend the throne when my father told me it was time to start learning. It’s a difficult job. And getting used to a betrothal partner is nothing easy, either. But it has worked out between your mother and I, and despite losing your brother to his own folly, we did well in raising a suitable heir to our throne. You’re an absolutely brilliant girl, and I couldn’t bear to see you give that up like your brother did.”

_He’s gone and changed the subject_, Asuna noted, sighing. _And on top of that, he’s trying to make up for placing me with a man to rule over me with flowery words that mean nothing_.

“I would like for you to spend time with him today, Asuna,” he said abruptly.

“Wh-what?” she stammered.

No, this couldn’t be allowed to happen. Even though she had met Oberon only a few times before, she had only needed that time to understand that he was not the sort of man that she wanted anything to do with. He had spoken to her in a manner that felt her seem like an object. He was also observant—extremely observant. Her father might have been missing the elephant in the room, but it would not be as easy to hide from Oberon as it was from her father. It was then that she first entertained the thought of running away.

“He’s here,” her father continued. “He’s actually waiting on the other side of the garden, by the east pavilion, to share a midday meal with you.”

“He’s…here…” Asuna breathed.

“That’s right,” her father said with a nod.

He offered her his arm, which she hesitatingly took, and started walking in the direction of the east pavilion. She kept her head down as they walked.

“You both need to start being a little more open with each other. The few times you’ve met aren’t enough, and you’re going to be living in the same palace relatively soon. What helped your mother and I become accustomed to one another was definitely frequent contact. Alone time. Within a few weeks, I’m sure you’ll even be close enough to want to spend nights in the other’s room and such.”

Keeping her head down, Asuna said nothing on the matter. No matter what happened, she did not want Oberon anywhere near her as she slept. There was only one man even permitted to be near her bed, and for all her father knew, that man didn’t exist. She silently wondered if things would go differently if she had Kirito here for support. That, in itself, would be its own issue. She certainly didn’t want to risk the repercussions of such an incident.

“You’re being awfully quiet,” her father said.

“I just have nothing much to say about it,” she replied quickly.

They stopped walking and her father looked out over at the east pavilion. Asuna looked up and saw Oberon stand up from where he was sitting. She instinctively shivered at the sight of him. His expression was less than unpleasant. Her father gave her a gentle push in the back, indicating that she was to join him. Swallowing, she simply nodded and slowly made her way over to the Alf man. With Sinon and Yuuki by her side, this would have been much easier. But now, alone, every step towards this man felt weighed down by a gravity stronger than her own will.

She stopped a ways away from the pavilion and glanced in Oberon’s direction. He was smiling at her, but not in a way that was perceived as friendly. No, whenever he looked at her, it was always with the same lustful expression. Oberon wanted her as a person wanted an object; she was something beautiful to him that simply had to be possessed. She stood there frozen. There was no way she was going to marry this man.

Finally, he broke the silence.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face, princess,” he said, his voice sounding cool.

He extended a hand to her.

“Won’t you join me for luncheon?”

Asuna ignored the outstretched hand and abruptly seated herself opposite of Oberon’s chair. He frowned at her rudeness and remained standing a moment. When she said nothing, he pulled out his own chair and slowly sat down into it. He folded his hands together and leaned forward a little bit.

“I would be much appreciated if actually spoke with me, princess,” Oberon said, smiling a little.

He brushed some of his hair away from his eyes and reached down for his cup.

“A relationship where you don’t talk seems awfully lonely. Unless you’d prefer it to be just one-sided conversation.”

“As if you actually want to hear what I have to say,” Asuna returned darkly.

“Is something on your mind?” Oberon said with a chuckle.

_ A lot of things are on my mind_.

“Aren’t you hungry at all?” he asked, pointing at the food on the table between them.

He selected a few items and placed them before her, making sure to push the plate closer to her. She gave him a small nod. Lying about it would gain her nothing.

“Then eat, Asuna. That’s what we came here to do, aside from enjoying one another’s company.”

“I don’t much enjoy the sort of company you provide, Prince Oberon,” she said curtly, lifting a small sandwich and taking a bite of it.

His smile turned into a rigid frown. Asuna chewed on her sandwich slowly; in truth, she was hungrier than just desiring a few small sandwiches, but she didn’t want to make anything seem abnormal.

“Isn’t there anything that might change that, Asuna?” Oberon asked, his eyes glinting dangerously. “You should remember that nothing will change that you’re my wife soon.”

_ We’ll see about that_, Asuna told him internally.


	7. Urgent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: When did I even write all of this it's so LONG haha.

“Urgent?”

“It just says that. Other than the usual indication of a date that she will be at the cabin, it simply says that this meeting is urgent.”

“What did you do this time?”

“This time?!”

“You already knocked her up, what worse could possibly happen?” Eugeo gave me a pointed look.

“He did _what_ now?”

The man who had just delivered the letter stared at me, mouth gaping. I returned Klein’s gaze with an unamused glare. Eugeo reached over and snatched the letter out of my hands. His eyes ran over the words and his eyebrows furrowed. Klein was still staring at me.

“You never said you were in bed with this girl…”

“And why would I tell you what I’m doing with her?” I grumbled.

I glanced back over to Eugeo and waited for him to finish before snatching the letter back. Klein gave a dissatisfied shrug. He looked down at the human girl with him, who was staring up at me with wide eyes.

“Why did you bring her?”

“Oh, just, you know, teaching her the ropes,” Klein told me.

I guessed then that she was going to become a messenger just like he was. She had mouse brown hair and was playing with a small blue dragon that was perched on her arm. Klein placed his hand on her head and she glanced away, blushing.

“This is Silica. Silica, this is one of my frequent customers, Kirito.”

“P-pleasure to meet you!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah…same?” I mumbled.

“What does the blond boy mean when he says you ‘knocked her up’?” Silica asked.

I nearly choked. Klein covered his face with his hands.

“Who is she? And why did you do that?”

“That’s none of your—” I started.

“It means that he’s a stupid idiot,” Eugeo said.

He gave me a sideways glance.

“He decided on a whim to just date the enemy’s daughter and now look at them. Both of you. Stupid. Stupid idiots.”

“H-hey!” I said. “You already know that I didn’t know she was the princess!”

“Your girlfriend is the princess?” Silica asked.

I covered my face with my hands and let out a groan. Right now wasn’t the time to be dealing with all of these questions. My head was filled with worry about what Asuna could have possibly meant by my ability to meet up with her being urgent. It very well could be a trap, which meant she’d been found out by her father and that he was trying to bait the dark elf scum that his daughter was dating out into the open. That was the scenario that made the most sense to me. She wouldn’t be able to hide forever.

“Mister Kirito?” Silica said.

“Eugeo, can you cover for me?” I asked, ignoring the girl.

Eugeo straightened up and gave me a stern glare.

“Look, I know that covering for me would be risky, but something might have happened. She could be in danger.”

“Did she say she needs you today?” Klein asked for clarification.

“The first date she listed is today,” I said, refusing to take my eyes off of Eugeo.

He couldn’t refute it; he’d just read the same letter I had. I swallowed and bit my lip a little.

“Please. I can’t let her get hurt just because I refused to be stern and agreed to continue this. It’s my job, as the one responsible for what happened, to make sure she’s safe.”

“Yeah, I noticed she mentioned more than one day,” Eugeo said. “Are you asking for more than one day’s worth of coverage?”

I nodded.

“As many as you can spare me.”

Eugeo said nothing, but he drew in a sigh and nodded his head ever so slightly. He turned his back to us and went back into the house. I waved at Klein and gave him and Silica a hasty good-bye before following my friend. We returned to our room in silence, and I began to grab certain things I deemed necessary and shove them into a bag or place them somewhere on my body. While he gave me a disapproving glance, Eugeo still made no move to comment on my behavior.

“You’d understand if your lover was the one in danger, wouldn’t you?” I finally asked, stopping in the doorway.

“Oh trust me,” he said slowly, “I understand perfectly well what you’re feeling.”

I didn’t know what he meant by that. Frowning, I stepped out into the hallway, staring down at my feet. I almost immediately bumped into my sister, who was giving me an incredulous look. I swallowed. She knew I wasn’t supposed to be heading out at this time.

“Big brother, where are you going with all of your gear and…a few bags?” she asked.

“Ah! Suguha, good morning,” I said.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” she said, crossing her arms.

Eugeo came over to the threshold and leaned against it. Suguha raised her eyebrows at him.

“What’s he up to this time?”

“Why don’t you tell her, Kirito?” Eugeo suggested.

“Why-why should I?” I asked.

“I mean, it’s kinda rude to not tell her,” Eugeo said. “She’s family, too.”

“What’s so important that you can’t tell me?” Suguha asked.

“Why in the world did I even tell _you_, Eugeo?” I grumbled.

I turned to Suguha and scowled a little.

“Look, the matter at hand is a bit urgent. I have a girlfriend and it’s kind of illegal because she’s a forest elf and she’s their princess, and I think her family might have figured it out, and it’s my job to go and protect her.”

“And the kid,” Eugeo added, refusing to look at me or Suguha.

“The…the KID?!” Suguha exclaimed.

I reached over and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“I do NOT need mom hearing about this!” I whispered harshly.

She was staring at me with wide eyes, probably because I didn’t deny it. The whole situation was a mess. I sighed.

“Look, I know what you’re probably thinking. I know it’s risky and stupid and everything…but I love her. And I want her and our baby to be safe. I can’t do that by just sitting here and letting her struggle alone.”

Suguha pulled my hand away from her mouth.

“You…you have a baby?”

“Well…” I murmured, blushing. “Not yet.”

“Ah, I see,” Suguha said softly.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a slight squeeze.

“Go. Protect our family, big brother. I want to meet my niece or nephew when they get here, after all.”

She let go of me and gave me a small smile.

“We’ll think of something to tell mom, okay?”

“Thanks, Sugu,” I said, returning the smile.

With that, I left the house without as much as a goodbye.

* * *

I made the trip as quickly as possible, even daring to dash through some spider-filled territory that I usually avoided for safety’s sake. By the time I arrived at the cabin, I was tired beyond words, but I refused to succumb to it. I dashed up to the entrance and lifted my hand to knock, when the door slid open, revealing Yuuki’s face. Her expression looked grave. I frowned and gulped down some air.

“What…what happened…?” I managed.

“You might want to catch your breath,” Yuuki told me.

She handed me a cup filled with water, which I gladly took and swallowed down. Yuuki sighed.

“I don’t think it’s something contagious, which is why Sinon and I are still fine.”

“Wait…what do you mean by that?” I asked, blinking. “I thought this was an issue of someone being close to finding us out or something.”

Yuuki shook her head.

“No. Asuna’s sick.”

Her expression darkened.

“Really sick.”

“Where is she?!”

“Calm down, Kirito, you’re out of breath—” Yuuki insisted.

“Where is she, Yuuki?!”

“In…in her room,” Yuuki relented. “With Sinon.”

I dashed past her and hurried to where she was. I threw the door open and saw Sinon standing over the bed, glaring over her shoulder at me. Her expression softened a little though, and she straightened up and waved me over. I dropped my things on the floor and walked over to the bedside. Asuna was deathly pale. She weakly reached a hand out to me, which I took. Her skin was freezing to the touch and moist with sweat. I knelt down and squeezed her hand a little.

“I’m here,” I told her, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me.

“She’s been like this for about a week now,” Sinon told me. “The only thing she can consume is water. She’s still eating, of course, but she can’t keep it down. It wasn’t easy getting her down here; I had to convince her father that her illness would alleviate from the country air. That, and she can’t really stand.”

“It hurts,” Asuna mumbled.

“Have you ever seen anything like it before?” I asked her.

Sinon shook her head.

“The only guess we have is that something’s amiss because your kind aren’t supposed to mix.”

“What do you mean by that?” I said.

“Think about it,” Sinon said. “The magic of your species is exceedingly different from that of hers. The dark magic of the dark elves most likely isn’t compatible with the light magic of the forest elves. Your child is an attempt at mixing two magic types that were never meant to be together at all.”

I could feel guilt forming a knot in my chest. Looking down at her belly, I could only find one thought crossing my mind: _This is my fault_. I shakily placed my other hand on her belly and bit my lip. She placed her free hand atop mine and gently rubbed it. I looked back up at her.

“We’ll be fine,” she said hoarsely.

I looked over at Sinon.

“Would you be opposed to me bringing someone here who might be able to help?”

Sinon’s eyes darkened.

“You know I don’t want any more dark elves around here causing trouble. Prince Oberon’s officially moved into the castle in preparation for his marriage to Asuna. One dark elf and a pregnant wife-to-be is already enough to put us at risk. Two dark elves—I don’t think we can justify anything with that.”

“Sinon, he could help her,” I pleaded. “She could be dying!”

“In time, I could find a healer on our side that would keep quiet,” Sinon insisted.

“And what if that’s too late?!” I exclaimed.

Asuna squeezed my hands, letting me know that I was getting too riled up.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry I did this to you…”

“Don’t blame yourself for something we both did,” Asuna told me.

She locked eyes with Sinon and gave her a pleading smile.

“I know it’s risky, but…would you rather risk it?”

She turned to look at me.

“I want our baby to be okay, Sinon…”

“I’ll discuss it with Yuuki,” Sinon said, turning and leaving the room.

For a moment, we both just stared at the door as it closed behind Sinon. It would take a lot more than just loyalty to find someone who would not spread word about Asuna’s condition to her father. Sinon and Yuuki had made the oath to hide our affair at the risk of whatever came with treason to the king. How likely would it be for them to find a healer with that same mentality? I wanted to have Eugeo take a look, which was, admittedly, a risk. But Eugeo already knew about the situation, and his skill with magical healing was much higher than mine.

“I’m cold,” Asuna said.

She wrapped her pale fingers around mine and tugged a little at my hand. I opened my mouth to protest.

“Please. Just hold me.”

“Okay,” I said with a sigh.

I pulled my armor and weapons off and laid them down on the floor, and then I crawled into the bed beside her. She pressed herself against my side and curled up as best she could onto me. I wrapped one arm around her shoulders and stroked her hair. Asuna took my other hand and pressed it to her abdomen. I gave her a questioning look and wondered what she meant by that gesture.

“A few days ago I first felt movement,” she said quietly. “I hope you get to feel it, too.”

“Ah, is that so?” I asked.

“Mm,” she responded.

She ran her hand over my chest and sighed.

“It’s been stressful without you here. My father moved Oberon into the palace. He’s constantly been coming to check on me. Sinon has done well to keep him away. It’s just too risky to be seen by him anymore. The baby’s gotten so big…I just can’t hide it.”

I couldn’t say anything to reassure her that she was wrong. Looking down at her belly, I knew she was right. The bulge had been hardly noticeable three weeks prior. Now, I could see it protruding from beneath her dress. It both made me fearful for her situation and overwhelmingly joyful. Despite the possibility that all could go wrong, that feeling couldn’t be drowned out. Beneath my spread fingers was the product of our love. Finally being able to see the growth, however small, filled me with an inexplicable emotion. Asuna laughed.

“Your face is all red,” she said.

I looked at her. Her eyes were on me.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I just…I dunno…” I mumbled.

“I have a few guesses,” she said, laughing a little.

It was then that I felt it—the peculiar sensation of the baby moving within her. She must have guessed from my expression that I’d felt it. Asuna placed her hand on my cheek and pressed her lips to mine.

“She must know her papa came to see us.”

“She?”

“It’s just a guess,” Asuna said.

She laughed.

“What would you guess?”

“What? Um…I don’t know,” I said, awkwardly looking away. “It’s impossible to tell without actually seeing the baby.”

Asuna laughed again.

“But whatever they are, it doesn’t really matter to me.”

“Is that so?” Asuna asked with a smile.

“I just want you to be okay,” I told her. “Both of you.”

“I’ll make it through this,” she told me gently. “Just a few months more. I know this will be behind us and you’ll get to hold our baby in your arms. And if we have to run for that to happen, that’s what I’ll do.”

“You’re not going anywhere until you feel better,” I said, brushing some of her hair out of her face.

“Kirito—”

“Asuna, please,” I said. “Rest. For your sake. For our baby’s sake. Rest. Don’t go anywhere.”

“I can run if I have to,” she pressed.

“If you have to run, then I’m going to have to insist that I carry you instead,” I told her.

She nodded numbly and curled up further into my chest. At that moment, the door slid back open and Sinon stepped in.

“Well?”

“In three weeks’ time,” Sinon said, “you can bring your healer.”


	8. Dilemma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Trigger warning for Oberon being a POS like he always is. Again, it's old. But I can't change Oberon he's a piece of shit. I want to kick his teeth in. *Keeps writing him to take out my anger on him with no guilt at points in stories.* This is as much as I salvaged from my angry purge. Anything from this point on is new stuff. So. LMK if you want more of it haha.

She didn’t think she could wait another couple of days. Sinon had insisted that Kirito stick to the three week pattern, but with only a few days left to wait for his return, Asuna felt that she was at the end of her strength. Without Sinon or Yuuki by her bedside, she stubbornly crawled out of the bed and stood up on her own for the first time in about five weeks. Her head swam. Her knees felt weak. Her body felt heavy.

Before she knew it, she was against the wall, shakily trying to keep herself upright. Her stomach turned with nausea. She clutched her belly and slowly made her way into the hall. Sinon and Yuuki were nowhere to be seen. Groaning, she continued towards the main room. When she made it to the threshold, she stopped. Sinon was talking to someone, and it wasn’t Yuuki. It was a male voice, and not the one she hoped to hear.

“She’s to be my wife in a couple of weeks, I don’t see why you have to insist I wait to see her if she’s sick.”

“The princess is in no condition to receive any guests,” Sinon said firmly. “I believe I’ve made my decision clear. You will return to the main palace and wait for her there. I will make the call on whether or not she is in good enough health to wed you in two weeks. As of right now, she is in a critical condition. Your patience would be most welcome, Prince Oberon.”

“I will not take no for an answer,” he pressed. “Where is she?”

“I don’t take orders from you until you marry my lady,” Sinon told him icily. “Do not make me use force to protect her from your stubbornness. We do not take kindly to you disrespecting her ill state.”

“And _I_ do not take kindly to you insisting that she is too ill to be seen!” Oberon shot back. “If the attendants are permitted to be near her, why not her husband-to-be?!”

“With all due respect, it is of far smaller importance to the kingdom for me to die of exposure than for you, your highness,” Sinon said.

Asuna could hear the Cait Sidhe’s voice dripping with malice towards the man in front of her. Sinon might have had a strong distaste for Kirito, but it was clear she hated Oberon with a fervent passion.

Asuna dared to peer into the room, just to see what was going on. Oberon’s back was to her and Sinon was facing her. Sinon spotted her immediately and her eyes went wide. Noticing her reaction, Oberon turned around and saw Asuna’s face peeking around the corner. Asuna gave Sinon an apologetic frown.

“Your highness! You aren’t supposed to be out of bed!” Sinon exclaimed, marching over to her and crossing her arms.

When she was closer, she changed her voice to a whisper.

“I should have warned you. What if he sees you like this, Asuna?”

Asuna frowned down at her round abdomen. Sinon was right; there was no hiding her condition at this point. Sinon reached over and draped one of Asuna’s arms across her shoulders and turned them so that their backs were facing Oberon. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a frown.

“Excuse me, I have to return the delinquent princess to her bed,” Sinon said gruffly.

“Since I’ve already seen her, I’d rather just accompany you,” he said, walking over beside them.

“That won’t be necessary, your highness,” Sinon insisted.

“Why must you insist that I can’t see my bride-to-be?” he asked, finally beside them.

He took one glance at the two women and his eyes went wide. Oberon reached out and tore Sinon away from Asuna’s side. He pinned Asuna to the wall and stared down at her stomach, with a look of horror plastered across his face.

“Who did this to you?”

“Get your hands off of her,” Sinon threatened.

She was already on her feet and had an arrow pointed at Oberon’s throat.

“I told you she was ill. If you put too much stress on her, she could die. We both don’t want that. So I suggest you let go of her immediately.”

“If you harm me, Alfheim will have your head, you wretched woman,” Oberon growled.

“I’ll risk it to see that my lady is safe,” Sinon said.

Asuna felt her knees give. If it weren’t for the fact that Oberon was holding her up at that very moment, she would have already collapsed onto the floor from fatigue. She looked between Oberon and Sinon, wondering whose resolve would give first. Finally, Oberon released her, causing her to fall to the ground against the wall. Sinon dropped to the floor as well, making sure to get between Asuna and Oberon.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Asuna shook her head.

“I was looking for you…I need water…and something to eat.”

“Let’s get you back into the bed, okay?” Sinon said. “Yuuki! Where are you?”

“Here!” a cry came from the opposite end of the hall.

The imp girl rushed over, equally appalled at seeing Asuna on the floor and Oberon in her presence.

“What…what happened? Is everything okay?”

“Could you get some water and some food for Asuna?” Sinon asked her.

“Of course, right away!” Yuuki exclaimed.

She dashed off to get the requested items.

“I demand answers,” Oberon muttered, still fixated on Asuna’s swollen midsection.

Sinon gave him a cross look, picked Asuna up, and then helped her back to her room without another word to the prince. Once she was laying back down, with her back propped up so that she could eat and see, Oberon opened his mouth again.

“Who did this to you? Why won’t you tell me? I’ll give him the punishment he deserves!”

Asuna took a sip of the water that Yuuki had brought her and then gave Oberon a sharp glare.

“I refuse to sell him out. He did nothing wrong.”

“Are you implying that you wanted this from him?” Oberon asked, a vein pulsing in his forehead.

“I will admit that we were not planning on having a child,” Asuna said curtly. “But since nothing is going to save me at this point, there’s no use in holding back. I won’t give you his name simply because I love him. I’d rather you just throw me in jail.”

“You’ve been seeing him all this time just to spite me, haven’t you?” Oberon asked.

Asuna didn’t so much as nod her head.

“Did he cause you this illness? Is your love worth it for that? You’re deathly ill and he’s made the situation worse by forcing you to carry his child!”

“How dare you,” Asuna said, clutching the sheets beside her in her fists. “He would have never touched me if he’d known I would get this sick! It’s not like we could predict what would happen!”

Oberon’s eyebrows raised a little in interest.

“So you’re sick because of the child…”

Asuna bit her lip, realizing her mistake.

“It’s a crossbreed, isn’t it?” Oberon said quietly.

He looked at Sinon, who turned her head away, refusing to lock eyes with him. He then turned to Yuuki, who also looked away.

“I know I’m right. In a world of magic, one has to be extremely careful who they choose to procreate with. That’s why our marriage was arranged, princess. Because Alfs and forest elves are compatible. That’s why our kingdoms ally themselves with wielders of light magic. Your lover must be from across the border, unless another imp servant sees to you.”

“You can prove nothing,” Yuuki growled.

“I’ve heard the dark elves have healers that can deal with this sort of thing,” Oberon mused. “They are a lot more likely to cross-breed than we are, at least up in the noble ranks, that is. The commoners probably don’t even know what sort of consequences would come from cross-breeding like this.”

“Then you would understand that perhaps her lover is working to bring a healer to her,” Sinon pointed out.

“Is that so?” Oberon hummed.

“Would you rather her die?” Sinon asked.

“Of course not,” Oberon said smugly.

He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’ll be checking in periodically, then, in the next few weeks. I won’t alert the king of this ordeal until I have my hands on the wretch you are as bold as to claim as your lover. And once I have both him and the healer to keep you alive, I’ll make sure you’re both dealt with accordingly. You can say your good-byes to your pathetic ‘lover,’ princess—as well as to your right to claim the throne. Once your father hears of this, there’s no way he’ll allow you to ascend the throne, especially with your recent absences. I’m far better suited, and I’m not even of your people!”

“You monster!” Asuna gasped. “If you plan to throw me out, throw me out with him!”

“And give you what you want? Oh no,” Oberon said, shaking his head somewhat dramatically. “Just because you can’t make political decisions doesn’t mean that I don’t still crave your love and attention, princess. After this, the only one touching this body will be me. The only children you’ll bare will be mine. Your beauty is simply something that my heirs _must_ possess.”

“I don’t want you to lay a single finger on me,” Asuna said.

“You don’t get much of a choice, now do you?” Oberon said with a smirk.


	9. Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I haven't touched this story since 2016 other than to edit it to post the previous eight chapters. So, I am proud to present this story's first new chapter in three years. I hope my writing improvement isn't TOO glaring in contrast to what's already here.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this.”

I’d hurried back to my home, after leaving so abruptly and risking everything to see what was wrong with Asuna. When I’d found out about her condition, guilt and worry filled my belly. It was all my fault for not realizing our magic types weren’t compatible, and now our child was making her deathly ill. I’d hurried back and practically torn down the door looking for Eugeo. He knew enough healing magic that I could trust he’d be able to do something for Asuna. Asking around for a better healer would have to come later, if he refused.

“She’s dying. I need your help!”

I’d given him my most desperate look, and yet he’d still turned to me with a cold expression and delivered the fatal blow.

“Absolutely not!”

How heartbroken had I been when those words had left his mouth? Devastated. I understood from his point of view how risky the request was. Not only was I betraying our queen, but I was asking him to do the same for the sake of my illegal tryst. I was the one who’d gone out and fallen for a forest elf girl. I was the one who’d not asked any important questions. I was the one who’d had sex with her. I was the one who impregnated her without any knowledge of what I was bringing on myself. My mistakes caused all of this. I couldn’t expect Eugeo to betray the throne to help me, too.

I think he’d caved when he saw how desperate I truly was. The morning after he’d refused to help me, I’d packed up my things, skipped my guard duty, since he was supposedly still covering for me, and marched off to find someone who would be willing to heal a forest elf. I looked in hard to find places, making sure that no one knew I was a member of the royal guard of Lysula. Eugeo caught me when I was back drinking in Agil’s tavern, moping about finding no one to help me without being terribly specific, much to Agil’s disappointment. Eugeo entered the premises, apologized, and dragged me back out of it, finally promising that he’d help me.

“But only with one condition,” he said.

I nodded, still tipsy from the booze.

“We’re taking Kizmel with us.”

And thus, he’d dragged me, kicking and screaming, practically, to go confess my sins to Kizmel. Our superior officer was at first displeased with me for playing hooky, but since she had a soft spot for us as her apprentices back when we were training, she took sympathy on me and my forest elf lover. She said she would request a formal leave of absence for the three of us from the queen, and then she would accompany myself and Eugeo to go help my dying girlfriend.

I turned to Eugeo, who had a sour look on his face, and tried not to look too guilty about pulling him further into my mess. He frowned deeper, then ran straight into a limb. Irritated, he turned around and swung his sword in a big arc, hacking off the tree branch. Kizmel and I leaned over and gave him a severe glare.

“What?” he grumbled.

I shook my head.

“You should be ashamed of yourself for smacking the shit out of that poor tree,” I said, clicking my tongue.

Kizmel elbowed me.

“What Kirito means is that it is disrespectful to have severed the branch of the tree,” she said. “You should offer it your deepest apologies. It has done nothing to harm you, and yet you brought your sword down upon it.”

Eugeo rolled his eyes a little, but he turned and offered a quiet apology to the tree nonetheless. He slipped his sword back into its sheath and followed behind us. Kizmel glanced around, likely sensing that we were near the border of the forest elves’ homeland. As guards, occasionally we were permitted to cross the border to go on secret missions for the queen. But crossing it without permission was a taboo. I wondered how she felt about this.

Neither she nor Eugeo said a word as we passed over the border. Perhaps they were too busy being on their guard, scanning the area for spiders. It would be an unpleasant day for all three of us if one got the jump on us. But after a few minutes of walking on forest elf turf, I noticed Kizmel relax a bit. This surprised me. Her sister had been killed by forest elves; I’d never seen her relax on a mission across the border before.

“Your lover,” Kizmel said. “What’s she like?”

The question caught me off guard, to say in the least. I almost did a double take. She was very calm in the presentation of her question, in her usual Kizmel way. But it was evident she was forcing herself. Her hatred of forest elves was deep-seated. Nothing ever made her turn her head to look at one kindly after Tilnel’s death. The way her expression was tensed told me she was doing her very best to withhold judgement. I smiled, grateful for this effort.

“She’s pretty fierce,” I said, laughing. “Very good with a sword, if I’m allowed to say so. I taught her how to use a blade, after all. She’s pretty proper, but when you hand her a sword, her wild side comes out for sure. She’s brilliant. She can tell you all about the history of her people. A bit sheltered. She got excited when I took her up a few floors for a boat ride.”

Eugeo whirled to face me.

“Did you really put that girl in our boat?!” he exclaimed.

I waved a hand at him dismissively.

“Stop acting like that,” I said. “Seriously, I’m starting to think you’re jealous or something.”

I laughed, thinking my comment was nothing more than a jab, but when I looked at Eugeo’s face, I felt something in my chest tighten up. He was fighting something. He almost looked angry. I stopped in my tracks and blinked at him.

_You’re kidding me._

“Hey, did I…say something wrong?” I asked.

Eugeo’s face scrunched up. He looked as if he were about to cry. I reached a hand out to him, but he smacked it away.

“Shouldn’t you be worried about your girlfriend?” he said, a bit sharper than I was used to hearing from him.

His eyes looked incredibly hurt. He turned back around and marched off, clearly trying to put distance between himself and me. I drew in a deep breath. Whatever his problem was with losing some of my attention to Asuna, I needed to confront it sooner than later. Did he think I didn’t see him as my best friend anymore? Was he jealous that I had a lover and spent less time with him now? If she were in Lysula, with us, it wouldn’t have to be that way. I’d have introduced them to each other and hoped they’d become good friends.

Eugeo was perhaps my oldest and truest friend. I shared everything with him. We had an inseparable bond that I couldn’t really describe to anyone. We’d been raised together, practically. Our families lived close to one another in the royal city, and we’d entered training for the royal guard together, promising each other that we’d never leave the other’s side.

Maybe he took my delinquent running off as a violation of that unspoken bond. Or was he still mad that I’d kept it a secret for so long? I’d been very frank with him before about my partners; he’d known when I dated someone, and he had been awkward but cordial to my girlfriends and boyfriends. Why did dating a forest elf make it that much more difficult for him?

I glanced at Kizmel. She nodded her head in the direction of Eugeo.

“You need to have a discussion with him,” she said. “His spirit is very troubled. I am afraid that nothing I can say will solve the problem. It was your actions that have upset him so.”

I nodded. She was always so straightforward and to the point. I apologized to her and picked up my pace, trying to catch up to my best friend. He’d gotten quite a bit ahead of us. I didn’t want to look too crazy, so I trotted up to him, trying to look like I wasn’t overly eager to have a difficult conversation. When I caught up to him, I bumped my shoulder against his. His eyebrows twitched and then furrowed. I grasped his arm.

“Hey, can we talk?” I asked.

He turned his face to me. The tension in my chest finally snapped when I looked at him. There were tears streaming down his face. His green eyes glinted in the sunlight peeking through the trees. He quickly lifted up his arm and wiped away his tears angrily. I’d seen something he hadn’t wanted me to see, that was immediately clear. He pulled out of my grasp and took a step away from me.

“About what?” he said flatly.

I shifted my weight and adjusted the bag on my shoulder. His tone told me I was pushing him too far, but I think he knew as well as I did that a conversation needed to happen. I reached out again to put my hand on his shoulder, and he stepped away again. I swallowed. He was making this more difficult than it needed to be. Nevertheless, I withdrew my hand and stepped closer, tilting my head at him.

“Look, I know you don’t agree with what I did,” I said. “And I know it’s not because you’re racist against forest elves or anything like that. I know you’re worried about me because I made a risky move and I’m asking you and now Kizmel to get involved. But I can’t help but feel there’s something else bothering you about all of this.”

His eyes slowly lifted and shifted to give me a sideways look. The look was strange. I hadn’t seen that look from him before. I’d seen a lot of Eugeo faces. Looks of bliss, of sorrow, of fury. When you’re friends with someone as long as we’ve been friends, it’s strange to suddenly see a look you’ve never seen before. I wondered what in the world had troubled him so that he’d make such an unreadable face.

“Is it because I’m not spending enough time with you?” I asked, trying to make my voice softer. “I wish more than anything that I could live happily with you and Asuna both at my side. I’d love to be able to do that. But you know why I can’t do that. She’s…she’s their princess. I can’t just take her away yet.”

At this, Eugeo scrunched up his shoulders. I’d struck a nerve. So, it must have been that. But I wanted him to say it with his own mouth. Just throwing it out at him didn’t make things better between us. I wanted him to air his feelings. Shout if he needed to. Bottling everything up wasn’t going to be solved by me acknowledging what was sort of obvious. He needed to come to terms with his emotions by verbalizing them.

“Please, Eugeo,” I said. “Just tell me how you really, really feel. I won’t be mad at you. But holding it in is clearly messing with your head. You’re irritable. I mean, you just harmed a tree and you’re very lucky Kizmel hasn’t mentioned wanting to tell the queen you did something that dishonorable. This isn’t like you.”

His eyes darkened a little. This look, I did know it. It was fear. Why was he scared?

“Tell me,” I pleaded. “No matter what you have to tell me, I will accept your words and I won’t be angry. Be brutally honest, even if you think it’ll hurt my feelings. I’m prepared to hear it. All of it.”

Indecision flashed in his green irises. His lips quivered.

“You want the truth?” he asked.

His voice was barely above a whisper. I nodded.

“Yes,” I said. “I don’t want you to feel burdened by holding it back. I’m asking as your best friend.”

He finally turned to face me. He reached out and grasped the collar of my neck. He looked like he was about to start crying again. His knuckles holding my shirt were turning white. I braced myself for the punch I knew I deserved. He spoke again, his voice sounding strained as it held back a sob.

“You’re an idiot, Kirito,” he whispered.

Then, to my shock, he yanked me forward and kissed me passionately. After a few seconds of shock, he slowly slipped his lips out of mine and stared down at the ground. I stared at the top of his head, unsure of how to respond. His fingers gradually let go of my shirt. He staggered back a few steps and hugged himself tightly. I numbly reached up and touched my fingers to my lips.

“You…”

It was all I could get out of my mouth.

“The truth is…you broke my heart…” he said, keeping his eyes to the ground. “And I’m trying very hard…very hard to help you save the person you chose instead of me…”

Eugeo was shaking. He couldn’t hold in his tears any longer. He roughly rubbed his sleeve over his eyes, once again trying to remove the tears from his face. I wanted to apologize, but what good was that going to do? He finally pulled his face out of his sleeve and looked at me, with the same look as before. I finally had an emotion for this new look of his.

_Heartbreak._

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “I can’t change how I feel about you, but you made your choice. And as your best friend, I want to support you, even though that choice hurts me.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder and cautiously wrapped my arms around him. He accepted my embrace and placed his head on my shoulder.

“I appreciate that,” I said.

He nodded.

“I love you,” he said. “I’ve always loved you.”

I smiled. I couldn’t return his feelings, but I was glad he could finally say it. I went to let go of him, but he clung to me a little tighter.

“Please…just let me stay like this for a moment longer,” he said softly.

I nodded.

“Okay,” I said.

I stood and held him there for a short bit. Kizmel walked up moments later, none the wiser. Eugeo tensed up a little.

“Don’t tell anyone,” he said.

“I won’t,” I said.

He relaxed. I decided that I’d hold him until he was fine. And then, with his secret safe between the two of us, we would continue on with a better understanding of each other. I just hoped that him seeing Asuna for the first time wouldn’t devastate him.


	10. Refusal to Sit Idly By

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I want to leave the apartment so bad. But I can't. Not unless it's for work. I am stuck here with no one around and I'm trying to crank out updates since I'm so very behind. I hope they are good.

The plan was frankly quite simple. Oberon would be hiding in a quiet part of the house when Kirito and his party arrived. After allowing them a moment of thinking they were alone, in hopes of letting Kirito and his friends disarm themselves, Oberon would enter the space and arrest them. He’d promised he’d keep the healer friend on a tight leash, knowing that Asuna’s condition was severe enough that he’d need to keep them alive.

And the more she thought about it, that was very generous of him. She had cheated on him, no matter how you looked at it. Their marriage was only meaningful on paper—it hadn’t officially come to pass, and it wasn’t one forming out of love. It was a political move to strengthen national ties with another group. Asuna wanted nothing to do with such an arrangement, but she hadn’t been bold enough to just speak her mind. She clutched the bedsheets over her belly and grit her teeth.

Sinon rested one hand on her shoulder, frowning down at her. Did she pity her princess for being in such a state? Ill, with child, and trapped by her own cruel betrothed? She needed to think of something. The way Sinon and Yuuki looked at her now, she felt crestfallen. Asuna wasn’t some fragile princess incapable of standing up for herself.

“There must be something I can do…” she said.

Frowning, Sinon shook her head. Her ears twitched for a moment, possibly listening in to hear if Oberon was in ear-shot.

“Asuna, one way or another someone would have found out about the baby,” she said. “You can’t beat yourself up over it. You know the choice you made was risky.”

It had been stated and restated so many times. She knew Sinon disapproved of her having this relationship. She was logical and reasonable—both good qualities that she respected in Sinon more than anyone else. As a servant who was told she had to be a bodyguard to a princess from a very young and formative age, Sinon also understood that sometimes you simply couldn’t fight obligation in this world. Her arrangement to be Asuna’s bodyguard was no different than Asuna’s arrangement to marry Prince Oberon.

Still, something seemed different about these two sorts of obligation. Being forced to perform a job surely wasn’t pleasant, but at least Sinon was free to fall in love with whomever she liked and befriend whomever she wished. Having restrictions placed on whom you could love, though, felt violating. It wasn’t even just selecting a partner for her, like with Oberon, but also with the restrictions on not allowing someone with dark magic to fall in love with someone with light magic.

“There must be a way that I can solve this,” Asuna said, shaking her head. “There has to be a benefit I can offer to my parents.”

Sinon sat back, giving Asuna an incredulous glare.

“Are you really considering telling your parents about the affair?” she said. “Asuna, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. If Oberon simply jails Kirito and claims your baby as his heir, things will go over a lot smoother.”

Asuna clutched the sheets over her belly even tighter.

“I won’t have it,” she said. “I won’t have that snake claiming my child as his own. I’ll think of a way that my union with Kirito will benefit our kingdom. I’m not marrying that man. Oberon is nothing but a lustful, despicable prince who wants control over my kingdom and my body.”

The Cait Sidhe woman flattened her ears and stared down at Asuna’s belly. She knew there was no changing her best friend’s mind. As a guard, she knew it was her place to advise Asuna to do the will of the king and queen. As her best friend, she knew it was hopeless. Sinon cautiously put her hand next to Asuna’s, resting her palm against her belly.

“I don’t know that your parents will ever accept a grandchild who’s both their heir and a dark elf,” she said quietly.

Asuna’s eyes snapped open wide.

“Shino-non, that’s it!” she said.

Sinon looked back up at her and tilted her head.

“What’s it?” she asked.

Smiling, Asuna smoothed out the blanket over her belly.

“Our baby is half forest elf, half dark elf,” she said. “I’m the princess, and Kirito is close enough to the dark elf queen that this could mean something. We could use this to find a way to build a peace treaty between the two warring elven nations. Don’t you see? Our baby could stop this war!”

Her friend gave her a funny look. When Sinon didn’t speak, Yuuki, who’d been standing over in the corner near the door, nodded and hummed.

“It sounds pretty decent,” she said. “But Asuna, what about the fact that Kirito, at the end of the day, still isn’t royalty. It isn’t like he’s a prince or member of the royal court. He’s more like Sinon—he’s a guard. He could lose his head for treason.”

Asuna nodded.

“Yes, but we don’t need to convince his people right now,” she said. “We have to convince my parents first. Once we get through that step, I’ll discuss with Kirito what our options are for convincing his queen. If things turn out badly and my parents have already pardoned him and accepted him as my husband, then we’ll just keep him safe over here.”

The plan sounded more solid this way than it did before. She couldn’t guarantee that it would work either way, but it was something she had to try. This was all for the safety of her lover and child. She opened her mouth to continue, but the door opened, revealing Oberon with a frown plastered to his face.

“You seem to be looking rather energetic today,” he commented.

He turned to Yuuki and snapped his fingers.

“You. Go and make the princess something to eat.”

Yuuki rolled her eyes at him and didn’t bother bowing as she left the room. She had no choice but to follow his orders, but that didn’t mean she had to like them. Asuna bit her lip as she watched her friend leave the room. Sinon turned her head and glared at Oberon, her ears now lying completely flat against her skull. Her eyes narrowed to slits.

Oberon came over to the side of the bed that was opposite to Sinon. He placed his hands on his hips and glared down at Asuna. She knew that her physical appearance was going to upset him anymore. Usually he was disgustingly taken with her. Now, he looked at her with spite and anger, knowing that her growing belly was the result of her love for another.

“It shouldn’t be much longer should it?” he said. “It’ll be just him and the healer, correct?”

Asuna nodded.

“What does the healer look like?” he asked.

She shrugged.

“I’ve never met his friends before,” she said. “I’m not sure who it is he’s bringing, but I’m sure it’s one person he trusts a lot. He doesn’t want our secret love affair out on his end, either.”

Oberon huffed.

“It amazes me that you two even considered this to be acceptable in the first place,” he said. “Having to hide your love seems impractical. You are betrothed and he clearly has his reasons for hiding the relationship. Neither one of you thought about who you would hurt, least of all yourselves!”

Asuna clutched her sheets again.

“Don’t act hurt,” she said. “All you’ve wanted from the start is my kingdom!”

The prince shook his head, laughing.

“Be that as it may, I can’t have the kingdom without your hand,” he said. “And this affair threatens my chance at your hand.”

Asuna wanted to yell at him more, but her body felt weak. She sank back into her pillows. Sinon placed a cold, wet cloth against her forehead. Yuuki hurried back in the room with something to eat. It was a soup; something that Asuna would be able to easily eat and would be easier for her to digest. Sinon cast another cold glance in Oberon’s direction.

“You’d best leave this room,” she said. “Kirito isn’t so dumb as to walk in here with you hovering around the princess.”

Oberon huffed, but did as she’d suggested.

“Thank you,” Asuna said.

Her voice was wavering. Yuuki spooned some of the soup out of the bowl and held it up to Asuna’s lips. She took a slow sip. Yuuki frowned.

“You’ve got to at least try to chew some of the vegetables,” she said. “Your baby needs the solid food.”

Asuna nodded weakly. She had to do what she could for now. She had a plan; the only thing now was to make it work. For now, until she had a chance, she had to wait for Kirito’s healer friend to help her out. She’d do her best to keep up her strength for the sake of her unborn child. She placed one shaky hand on her belly.

_Please. Survive. Survive to see our family live a happy life together. _


	11. Betrayal's Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the wait. It's been an absolutely insane time. I'm having to rework the plot from how the original went, so I hope this goes better.

It was nearing nightfall when we arrived at the summer home. A few windows were lit up, signaling where in the large house I would find Asuna and the others. I waved Eugeo and Kizmel on, telling them to follow me. We didn’t even bother removing our coats and outer gear. I hurried back to the lit room to see Yuuki perk up and scurry out of the room with a bowl in hand. She mumbled something as she went past, but I couldn’t hear it. I ran over and took her spot beside Asuna, reaching down to pick up her pale hand. Sinon was standing on the opposite side of the bed, frowning down at us.

“I came as fast as I could,” I told her.

She smiled up at me weakly. Her skin looked more sickly than before. Guilt tightened my chest. It was my fault she was in this state. I glanced down at her belly. It had grown quite a bit since I’d last seen her. She cupped it with her free hand. I placed mine atop hers and leaned in to give her a kiss. She eagerly accepted it, seeming to have a bit more energy than she appeared to have.

I could feel strong movement in her belly, which meant despite everything happening to Asuna, the baby was still pretty healthy. I gently squeezed her hand. For just this moment, I felt I could appreciate what had resulted from our love. I lifted my hand off of her belly, though, and gently caressed her cheek.

“You’re doing such a good job,” I said.

Tears formed in her eyes.

“Kirito…” she said.

I touched my forehead to hers.

“Shh, it’s okay,” I said. “My best friend came to help you. He’s very good at medicinal arts. He promised me that he’d take good care of you.”

Asuna shook her head a little. I looked over my shoulder and nodded for Eugeo to come closer. He drew in a breath and mumbled an apology to Sinon as he sat down on the bed next to Asuna. He reached into his bag and pulled out something to hand to the Cait Sidhe girl.

“This is a medicine we typically give to our expectant mothers,” he said. “Even dark elves have a bit of trouble with our innate magic during pregnancy. If you don’t mind, while I take a look, that should be steeped like tea and served as such.”

Sinon’s tail flitted back and forth, and her ears laid back against her skull.

“What do I look like to you, a chef?” she muttered.

Eugeo gave her a funny look.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know where the kitchen is,” he said. “Don’t consider this me being amicable to the people that slaughter us without mercy. I’m only here because my best friend asked me to help.”

Sinon huffed, but she left the room with the medicine in hand. I shot Eugeo a warning look. I knew he was in a bad mood, and I knew why, but it was no excuse for him to behave like that. Eugeo stared down at the bedding, mumbled an apology, and gave Asuna a polite bow.

“Forgive me,” he said. “My name is Eugeo, no family name. I apologize that your mortal enemy has to be the one to try and save you, your highness.”

Asuna smiled at him and shook her head.

“No…thank you,” she said. “The war my parents wage against the dark elves is unjustified. I only hope that this baby will change the way things are, should it survive.”

Eugeo nodded, saying nothing, and then started a spell to check on her. I turned my attention back to her. Her eyes were filled with tears and fear. I reached up and wiped some of them off of her cheek. This must have been so difficult for her. She was out here, hiding away from her family, just to protect our child. On top of that, the baby was making her very ill. I stroked her hair.

“You’re going through so much, just for our little family,” I said. “It’s okay to cry if you need to, Asuna.”

She shook her head again.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Her voice cracked.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” she cried.

I squeezed her hand.

“Don’t be sorry!” I told her. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I know it’s hard. I promise, I’m not going to leave your side until you’re well again. We’ll work out a way to get you away from here.”

Asuna swallowed, then mouthed those same words again. I opened my mouth to protest, but then I felt cold metal against my neck. I moved only my eyes to look at Eugeo. A forest elf guard had a blade to his neck as well. I suspected Kizmel was either caught or had fled. I looked back at Asuna.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

I couldn’t believe what was happening. Were these her guards? I felt something painful in my chest. This meeting was expected. They knew we’d be here. Bringing her medicine and the specific time frame they’d agreed to—it was all a trap. I locked eyes with Asuna, honestly horrified by the realization.

“You…you tricked me?” I asked more than stated.

Asuna’s face immediately twisted up in guilt. She’d definitely known. The guard grasped me by the hair and pulled me away from her. Eugeo and I were shoved out of the room and tossed against the far wall. Kizmel was tied up on the floor, staring into space. The guards started to tie us up as well. A man dressed in green and white stepped over towards us. His blond hair fell to about his shoulder blades, and his green wings told me he was from Alfheim. He glanced between the three of you.

“Which one of you is the healer?” he asked, a sour expression on his face.

Eugeo lifted his face.

“I-I am,” he stammered.

The fae man waved to one guard.

“Place him under house arrest in my quarters,” he said. “Take the princess and her handmaidens there as well. Allow no one else to enter my quarters without my verbal permission. Take the dark elf woman with us. I’ll handle this little adulterer myself.”

Eugeo said nothing as he was roughly dragged away out of the house. Kizmel, too, was pulled up to her feet. The fae man picked my up by my collar and slammed me against the wall. I felt the breath being knocked out of my lungs.

“You must be Asuna’s little lover,” he said. “Such a hideous little thing, you dark elves are. I hope the child doesn’t have your features. I’ll have to drown it if it does, you see.”

I tried to struggle against him. Unspeakable rage filled my chest.

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on my child!” I spat.

He laughed.

“Such bold words for a man sold out by his lover,” he said.

I shook my head.

“Asuna would never!” I cried.

Sighing, he shook his head back at me.

“You still don’t get the position you’re in, do you?” he said. “My name is Oberon. I’m one of the princes of Alfheim. I’m betrothed to your little lover and will become the king of the forest elves when Asuna’s old father dies. Then I’ll be free to step into Lysula and wipe out every single one of you dark elf pests as I see fit. Don’t you see? Asuna sold you out, knowing she’d wronged her future husband.”

I refused to believe it. I shook my head with more vigor this time.

“No!” I shouted. “She’d never be loyal to the likes of you!”

He chuckled.

“Keep telling yourself that,” he said.

He set me back down and pulled me out of the summer home. He threw me into a carriage next to Kizmel. Eugeo wasn’t present, which meant they really had decided to take him elsewhere. I had to admit, as foul as the trap was, it was smart. Get me to provide a healer from my side, then kidnap the healer to save her alongside a forest elf healer. It got me out of the picture and helped Asuna survive to ascend the throne. I hung my head.

“Where do you want the prisoners taken, Lord Oberon?” one guard asked. “Down in Blackiron?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head.

“Strand them in the dungeon beneath floor one,” he said. “We’ll let the Scythe take care of them.”

The guard shuffled.

“But…but sir…” he stammered. “Don’t you want to present them to the king?”

Oberon shook his head.

“As noted before, if the child shows too much of its father’s genes, it’ll be disposed of,” he said. “I’ve no need to take this pathetic weakling to court before the king. I’ll kill him and his bastard child the easy way. Make sure to leave them cuffed when you strand them. And take care that you don’t die yourselves.”

After an abrupt “yes, sir!” the guard shuffled to the front of the carriage and mounted it. It started shaking as it rolled down the beaten, off-road path. I’d only ever heard of there being a dungeon beneath the first floor, but if the rumors about the Scythe were true, then we were as good as dead. They’d most likely strand us without weapons, which meant we’d have to hope there was enough resources in the air for us to use our magic.

If not, I’d die a traitor to my queen, betrayed by my lover.


	12. The Birth of an Alliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I had to tap my partner for some help like OH GOD WHAT DO I WRITE NEXT because I had two scenes in my head and both worked as a follow up. And the winner isssssss-

Sinon and Yuuki could have been anywhere, for all she knew. They hadn’t been locked in Oberon’s quarters along with her and this dark elf, the man who Kirito had brought to her to help her with her illness. She longed for the comfort of either her lover or her good friends, but she was stuck here with this complete stranger who came across as snappy and clearly wasn’t keen on being friendly with her.

Without his armor, the dark elf man wore a very simple, dark purple pair of pants and a matching tunic. It complemented his lavender hair, yet contrasted with his bright, green eyes. His facial structure was very similar to Kirito’s, as if they were brothers. His expression was calm as he ground herbs with a pestle. Asuna clutched the sheets covering her legs. She had to speak to him and break this awkward silence, but she got the feeling he didn’t want to be spoken to. She would try nonetheless.

“What was your name again?” she asked.

Those vibrant, green irises flitted over to her for a moment, and then they returned to his own hands.

“Eugeo, your highness,” he said.

She sighed.

“There’s no need for formality,” she said. “I’m not your princess, after all.”

For a moment, she thought she saw his brow knit up in frustration. He poured the herbs from the mortar into water that was boiling over a little fire he’d conjured up. He turned to face her, giving her an odd look.

“Do you dislike forest elves, Eugeo?” she asked.

It was a fair question. Kirito was the only dark elf she’d ever met that had treated her with any kindness. She’d not been prejudiced in the first place. It was just a fact. As the princess of the forest elves, those who hated her people were the ones she ran into the most. Their nations were at war. Seeing one another in peace was out of the question.

Eugeo likely harbored unpleasant thoughts for her. He looked at her with a bit of a sour expression. She hadn’t done anything to him. The only logical conclusion for this expression was that she was a leader in the nation that attacked his own.

“I don’t really care about things like that,” he said. “Politically speaking, I am a guard to the queen of Lysula, but person to person, here, I’m no different than you are aside from magical type and genetics.”

He glanced back over at his work. If not that, then why did he have such a look on his face?

“Is it the predicament?” she asked. “I should apologize for dragging you into this.”

Eugeo’s expression softened.

“It’s nothing,” he said.

He reached over and removed the bowl from over the fire. With one hand, he held up a strainer, with the other, he poured the medicine through it, removing all of the particles from the liquid. His eyes once again darted over to Asuna, as if studying her. He took a spoonful of honey and stirred it into the cup. Taking care to lift it with both hands, he picked it up and handed it over to her. She nodded and numbly thanked him.

“I am here because Kirito asked me to,” he said. “I’m not here for you.”

She blinked at him. He’d been rather blunt just then.

“Simply because he asked?” she asked.

There was a pained expression on his face as he stared at her. He turned his head and gazed out of the window. Beneath Oberon’s front window one could see the vast royal gardens. She wondered if he was mentally comparing it to gardens back in his own royal capital.

“I would do anything for Kirito,” he said, his voice suddenly very soft. “I’m strict with him, I suppose, but at the end of the day, if I had to choose between my duties as a guard of the queen and Kirito, I would give my life for him.”

Asuna gripped her cup.

_Ah, so that’s it_, she thought. _He’s jealous of me._

Eugeo turned back to her and glared down at the cup. He nodded at it, switching back into his working mode.

“That medicine, like I said last night, should help to ease the discomfort of holding so much dark magic inside of you,” he said. “Dark elf mothers tend to have a similar issue, but your body isn’t designed to support dark magic like ours is. It’s impressive you’ve made it this long.”

She wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. Eugeo sat down beside her and felt her forehead. He sighed and shook his head. Asuna sipped at the medicine, refusing to take her eyes off of him. Those shimmering eyes were filled with worry, likely hiding stronger emotions behind them as he wondered where his beloved Kirito was.

“So reckless…” he muttered.

Asuna hummed.

“Who?” she asked. “Me?”

Eugeo’s eyes half-closed.

“I suppose you are, too, aren’t you, your highness?” he said. “Though it’s hard to blame you. I don’t know much about you. Kirito, on the other hand, is impulsive and a bit of an idiot. I knew he’d been sleeping with you because he’s so careless. And when he confessed that he’d gotten you pregnant, well, I had half a mind to slap him.”

She giggled.

“I’m sure you have some fun stories about him,” she said. “You’re best friends, right? You must have some.”

For the first time since his introduction to her, Eugeo smiled. It was faint and only tugged at the corner of his lips, but she was going to count it as a smile. Considering his tone, it was obvious Eugeo was in love with Kirito. She couldn’t imagine being in his shoes. This man was her love rival, but she’d won and now he was here, treating her illness and having to face the reality that his beloved had chosen someone else.

“We’ve been inseparable since we were kids,” he said. “We grew up together, got in trouble together, and then joined the guard together. I suppose this is the first time he’s really done something without me.”

Asuna tilted her head.

“Didn’t he date other people?” she asked.

Eugeo nodded.

“I suppose he did,” he mumbled. “Sachi died on a mission, so we don’t really bring her up. And the situation surrounding Coper wasn’t so pleasant, either. Perhaps I should feel lucky, in a sick way. Everyone Kirito chooses has something horrible happen to them.”

Swallowing, Asuna placed one hand on her belly. She hated to think of this as something horrible. Sure, she was ill, but this was supposed to be something to celebrate. Despite the circumstances, she was still very happy to have this baby. This wasn’t bad luck or a part of his trend. She’d survive, get out of this situation with Oberon, and then they’d become a happy family.

Eugeo glanced over at her and reached out a cautious hand. He gently touched her stomach. His brow was knit up in frustration. She wondered what was going through his head. Heartbreak? Guilt? Jealousy? Drawing in a deep breath, she slipped her hand on top of his and smiled at him.

“Your Uncle Eugeo is telling you hi,” she said.

The dark elf tensed up.

“Uncle?” he repeated.

She nodded at him, smiling.

“You’re Kirito’s best friend,” she said. “I know he’d agree with me. You’re basically our baby’s uncle.”

He lowered his head, staring down at the blankets. Asuna finished up her medicine, sat down the cup, and then grasped Eugeo’s hand with both of hers. Out of the corner of his eyes, he looked up at her. It was so clear that he was hurt by Kirito’s choice. Asuna wasn’t going to just give him up to make Eugeo happy, but she did want to do whatever she could to make sure that he knew that Kirito would always be his close friend.

“Look, your highness, I should be honest—” he started.

She squeezed his hand.

“Please,” she said. “Call me Asuna.”

Eugeo looked away but nodded.

“Asuna,” he said. “I know you don’t mean anything by it, but you need to understand that…that I feel…very strongly about Kirito…”

She dipped her head.

“It’s obvious you’re in love with him, Eugeo,” she said.

He scrunched up his shoulders and tried to pull his hand away from her. He seemed angry about the fact that she’d just blurted it out. She’d rather him just let it out than hold it all in. Did Kirito know about this? She bit her lip. There was nothing she could do. She leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Glittering tears streamed down his cheeks. Smiling, Asuna pulled Eugeo suddenly against her and embraced him.

“I’m not Kirito, but he would probably do this right now,” she said.

Eugeo laughed a bit. He buried his face in her shoulder and quietly cried there.

“I want to be your friend, too, Eugeo,” she said. “I’d like for you to help me not because you’re beating yourself up trying to please Kirito. I want you to choose to help me because we’re friends and you don’t want me to die.”

He huffed.

“How can you be friends with someone also in love with your boyfriend?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“It’s not about that,” she said. “It’s just about the fact that it pains you to be stuck here with me. I want to change that if I can.”

He sighed and pulled himself away from her.

“You’re very kind,” he said. “I can see why Kirito would choose you, Asuna.”

She smiled at him.

“And I can see why Kirito loves you, too, Eugeo,” she said. “Shall we start again?”

He gave her a slight nod.

“Besides,” Asuna said. “We’re going to need to trust one another if we plan to escape?”

Eugeo’s eyes widened.

“I can see it even more now,” he mumbled, letting out a dry laugh. “Very well, then. Where shall we start?”

Asuna smiled.

“Why don’t we start with some childhood stories?” she suggested.

_Hang in there, Kirito_, she thought. _As soon as I earn your friend’s trust, we’re going to get you out of here, safe and sound. _


	13. Prisoners in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: At last, after much brainstorming, a chapter is here! Haha! Yaaaaaay.

The unpleasant scent of moisture trapped in a tight space hit my nostrils as soon as the door to the dungeons was yanked open by the man ordered to take Kizmel and I underground to be stranded. He yanked on the chain that linked me to him, indicating that I needed to go down the stairs before him. I stubbornly planted my feet. He grasped my shoulder and roughly pushed me down a few steps. Behind us, the other man tugged Kizmel along. She didn’t put up as much bold resistance as I did.

The forest elf chained to my wrist was called Yanai, and he led the way by calling up a light spell and illuminating the path until we got to the bottom of the stairs. There, the materials to build a torch were ready. Yanai and his fellow guard each set one ablaze, and then they shoved us along the passage, further into the stinking, wet dungeon after locking it behind themselves—likely preventative maintenance in the off chance that we escaped them.

At the very base of the floating castle of Aincrad, these dungeons sat as a reminder that we weren’t the first people in Aincrad at all. Someone in ancient times had built these dungeons that curved and sloped deep into the nether regions of the castle, probably finding an end somewhere near the base. People theorized that there might be a door or opening at the bottom that originally was an escape route from the castle when it had been attached to the earth below, but no one in many generations had dared to explore these depths because of the Scythe.

Supposedly, there was a monster in these dungeons. The rumor was that no one who stepped foot in them came out alive because the Scythe killed them before they could make it to the exit. Clearly such a notion wasn’t true, as a rumor had to come from somewhere. A monster warning couldn’t happen unless someone had seen the monster firsthand. And if they hadn’t, they were lying. From the way Yanai and his partner shook, something told me that they either really feared a superstition or there was actually something down here.

“I hate coming down here,” the other man said. “You never know when it’ll be your last trip.”

Yanai huffed and glanced back at him for a moment before continuing down the walkway.

“As unpleasant as the dungeons are, I think you’re overreacting,” he said. “We’ve been down here enough times dumping off dark elf scum that that thing should recognize us by now. If it truly exists.”

The second man gulped.

“What makes you think it doesn’t?” he asked.

Stopping in his tracks, Yanai took a few steps back and held the torch up to his comrade’s face. I could see that the other man was truly terrified. As bold as Yanai was talking, he was still shuddering, but his poker face was definitely much better than the other man’s was.

“As many times as we’ve been down here?” he said. “There’s no way there’s a Scythe monster down in these parts. We strand the bastards down here, and then they starve to death because they can’t get out. Nothing else is going on down in these dungeons aside from a bit of mushroom growth.”

Kizmel shook her head, trying to get some hair out of her face.

“What about giant toads?”

The two men and I frowned at her, unsure of what she was trying to say. Yanai stepped closer to her.

“Shut up, dark elf cunt,” he spat.

I scrunched up my shoulders.

“Hey!” I said. “Don’t talk to her like that!”

Yanai swung around, switched the torch into the hand attached to the chain, pulled out his sword, and slammed the hilt into the side of my head. I gasped in pain and dropped down to my knees. My head started to throb, with the strongest of it being focused on the spot where the hilt hit my skull.

“Keep your mouth shut or I’ll do the Scythe’s job for it,” he said.

I gritted my teeth and looked up at him, squinting from the pain. It was just long enough of a glance to get my point across before his head snapped back as his comrade yelped and then fell silent. We turned to look behind and saw Kizmel’s arms raised in the air. She was dangling a few inches above the cobblestone floor from the chain that was attaching her to the guard. Yanai swallowed and held up his torch. Behind Kizmel, the face of a giant toad suddenly appeared from out of the darkness—and the chain was leading into its closed mouth.

“K-Kizmel!” I exclaimed.

She gave me a small smile.

“I warned him,” she said.

I didn’t know if now was an appropriate time to laugh or not. Fortunately for me, the toad’s stomach acids ate right through the chain, and Kizmel dropped to the floor, completely free from the guard attached to her. The toad then lunged forward to claim its next snack. Kizmel sprung forward and used her cuffed wrists to knock the sword and torch out of Yanai’s hands. As the toad’s enormous mouth shut, Yanai disappeared from sight and I felt myself being yanked over way too close to the toad’s mouth. I gulped down some air as I tugged gently at the chain, making sure that saliva didn’t get on my hand.

“H-how fast do these things digest?” I said.

Kizmel walked over to the sword, bent down, and used the edge to cut through the chains at her wrist. I made a face, but then she gave me a pointed look. There was a spell one could use to weaken metal, and she’d likely cast it before cutting through it. She then picked up the sword and readied herself. As soon as the chain holding me dissolved, I leapt backwards as Kizmel bounded forward and drove the sword into a critical spot on the toad’s body, ending its life as quickly as it had ended our captor’s lives.

“Are you hungry?” she asked. “The key to the dungeon was likely digested, so we’ll have to find another way out. You’ll want your strength.”

I blinked at her and then over at the toad.

“Is that safe to eat?” I asked.

Unpleasant thoughts of eating bits of digested forest elf floated into my mind. Kizmel nodded and set about starting a fire. She explained to me that while the acid in the toad’s mouth and stomach was quite potent, if we cooked it down to just eat the meat and cleaned out organs, it would make a very decent meal for a party of ten. I sighed and figured there was no getting out of this. My stomach was empty, after all. It was this or nothing.

Kizmel had been paying a surprising amount of attention to the caves we were in as we’d walked along. She knew exactly where to find burnable materials and thus we set about cooking the entire toad to make sure that none of the deadly acids were left in its meat and organs. As she’d explained, the resulting pile of meat probably could have fed ten large, hungry men. We selected some portions to eat and then sat down by the fire, quietly eating our fill. Once she’d finished up, I was still working through more. It seemed a shame to leave it all here. I told myself I would eat as much as was possible so as not to waste it.

“Tell me something, Kirito.”

I glanced over at her as I stuffed a fourth serving into my mouth.

“Mmhmm?”

She smoothed down her pants legs and sighed.

“What made you fall in love with Princess Asuna?”

I hummed, still chewing, and thought up a response while I finished up what was in my mouth.

“She has this drive,” I said. “She’s a princess and she’s forbidden from learning the sword. But she feels like a true leader should be ready to pick up their blade and join their people in battle should the need arise. The other royals and nobles in her kingdom sit comfortably in their palace while the poor’s blood is spilt fighting battles against our people. While Asuna doesn’t agree in this war, she does think that a leader stands with their people—not behind the front lines so deeply that they never know struggle.”

A smile appeared on Kizmel’s face as she took in my words. I reached for more toad meat and let her think about that in silence. As I picked my way through the pile, I considered how silly my response might have been. Our nobles and royals did the same. Very few people of privilege placed themselves in positions where they were soldiers or guards or assassins. It was all the poor people who gave themselves wholly to their nation—those who had no other choice. Being a soldier promised them food and lodging. I knew that for myself, it was a rather sweet deal.

“I struggle to find the good in forest elves,” Kizmel said. “Ever since they took the life of Tilnel, I’ve thought very poorly of them. Seeing your love has given me a bit of perspective, though.”

Saying nothing, I raised my eyebrow. She glanced over at me and chuckled, probably amused by my determination to finish off the toad meat.

“We each are fighting for a cause that we think is right,” she said. “The forest elves fight for their king as I fight for my queen. In the same manner, you fight for your beloved and your child. We are all merely standing up for someone, perhaps not meaning any ill will towards anyone. We just have something we wish to protect.”

I thought about Asuna, and I thought about the baby growing within her. I did want to protect them both until my very last breath. If Eugeo or Kizmel or even people back home like Agil or Klein or Lisbeth had decided to turn against me and harm Asuna or the baby, I wouldn’t hesitate to make sure my family was safe, even if it meant losing my friends. What Kizmel said was right; I didn’t want to harm any of them, but if I had to, I would. I gave her a nod in agreement.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said.

She smiled.

“Then I will do everything in my power protect your loved ones,” she said. “Perhaps maybe she can see the beauty in peace between our people.”

I nodded.

“Our baby is kind of a testament to that,” I said, chuckling. “Living proof that dark elves and forest elves can get along just fine.”

Kizmel laughed.

“Are you excited to meet your little one, Kirito?” she asked.

I felt my cheeks flush with heat. I supposed that in the time I’d been worrying about Asuna’s health, I hadn’t really thought about the fact that every day was another day closer to the day I’d become a father. A fluttering feeling filled my chest. I pressed my hand to my chest and nodded, unable to suppress my grin.

“I don’t know how I could love someone so much when I’ve never even met them,” I said, “but even for the short time that I saw Asuna before we were taken away, I felt nothing but love when I felt the movement of our baby.”

Kizmel smiled back at me and nodded.

“I’ll make sure you get back to them so you can be there to meet your child,” she said. “When you’ve finished up with that pile of meat, I’ll take you down a pathway to get out of here.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“You know a way out?” I said.

She nodded.

“You’re going to need all of your strength,” she said. “Make sure that you’ve eaten your fill.”

I nodded back and looked at the pile. There were only a few scraps of meat left in it. I couldn’t bear to tell her that I’d been trying to stuff my face so as not to waste a single bit of the toad meat. I shoved the last bits in even as my gut protested and quickly chewed them up and swallowed, ensuring that nothing was left but bones. Kizmel laughed and reached over to poke my stomach. I grunted and swatted her hand away.

“Please, no…” I groaned. “I feel like I’m going to pop.”

She sighed and shook her head.

“I said eat your fill,” she said. “Not eat the whole toad, Kirito. You appear unwell.”

Humming, I tried to put on my best poker face, but I figured it was beyond that. My stomach was so full that I didn’t want to even attempt getting to my feet. My pants felt too tight and gut was jutting out enough that Kizmel could see I was overstuffed. I clutched my stomach and slumped down against the wall behind me.

“Alright, we’ll rest for a moment,” she said. “But we’ll need to move soon. We don’t want to run into the Scythe.”

I grimaced.

“Is that thing really real?” I mumbled.

She gave me a serious nod.

“It’s very real,” she said. “And while some survive who have encountered it…it’s not an easy battle. So be on your best guard. We only have one sword between two of us.”

I swallowed and nodded.

“R-right.”

I tried my best not to let worry consume me. I wanted to be back up on the same floor as Asuna. I wanted to protect her from Oberon and be by her side while she was sick. I wanted to find a way to make sure Asuna and Eugeo became fast friends. But I couldn’t do that if the Scythe got to me first. I pushed myself up to my feet, still holding my stomach, and I glanced down the hallway.

“Lead on, then” I said.

Kizmel stood up and dusted herself off.

“This way.”


	14. Dungeon Crawl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: After much deliberation, I asked my beloved for which direction to go with this chapter and he gave me some good information. :3 I hope you enjoy!

A dungeon crawl with an overstuffed stomach wasn’t exactly my idea of fun, but Kizmel was right. There were plenty of monsters down here that wanted to snack on us, and we spent a lot of time tossing the sword back and forth with one another to make sure giant toads and other amphibious creatures didn’t swallow one or the other whole. All of the fighting was particularly uncomfortable while I was still digesting. We stepped into a small area with a pedestal in the middle and I slumped down against it, clutching my stomach and groaning. Kizmel shook her head at me and sighed.

“Tell me again why you ate so much?” she said.

I gave her my best pitiful look.

“You never know which meal will be your last…” I said.

She rolled her eyes and sat down along what looked like a bench built out of stone along the wall. This area had clearly not always been inhabited by monsters and ghost stories. I grumbled and picked myself up to look at the pedestal behind me. I placed my hand on it and ran it over the smooth surface. There was a faint amount of energy emitting from the surface. It felt like the pull one could feel between compatible magic types. We often used certain locations that were rich with dark magic to subconsciously locate one another.

“Asuna’s likely with Eugeo, right?” I asked.

Kizmel looked up at me and hummed, and then she nodded her head.

“This prince of Alfheim seemed rather set on keeping Asuna as a bride, even at the expense of killing your child,” she said. “He’ll likely keep Eugeo there as a healer until Asuna delivers. Once the baby is born, then he’ll probably kill both Eugeo and your child.”

I tried not to think about that result.

“So, theoretically, I could try to find Eugeo’s aura in order to find all of them?” I said.

She nodded.

“You could also try for the imp servant of hers,” she said. “Either way, there should be dark magic close enough to her that you could locate what floor he’s taken them to.”

This was a reassuring fact. Using the pedestal, I could find them all and, hopefully, get them all out of there before something worse happened. I held my hands out over the pedestal and prayed silently to the gods that this would work. I’d never attempted to find someone who was so close to many with innate light magic. I strained myself to put out my magic into the space. That connected my aura to a connected stream of dark magic that existed in all of Aincrad. I tried to focus on what Eugeo’s aura felt like; I’d contacted him many times this way when we’d gone out on missions.

Eugeo’s aura felt at times very cold. It was a distinct and icy sensation, one that I often struggled to understand the origins of. I’d asked him before what mine felt like. He dodged the topic, and now I think I understood why. Kizmel said mine felt rather lonely but at the same time very warm. As I searched throughout the lower floors for an aura matching Eugeo’s, I finally found a dark magic presence on the tenth floor among the forest elf lands. It was bubbly and carefree. Nearby, there was Eugeo’s aura, not close enough to be in the same place, but most certainly on the same floor. Close to Eugeo, there was a faint, unusual aura that didn’t feel as strong as his or the one I presumed to be Yuuki. Frowning, I wondered what I could have found so close to Eugeo, but then the presence seemed to try and reach back to me.

“That’s…”

Kizmel walked over to me giving me a funny look.

“What’s the matter, Kirito?” she asked.

I smiled and felt my chest tighten up.

“I can sense the baby,” I said. “I think she knows it’s me.”

The feeling was pure and warm, a lot less energetic than either Yuuki’s or Eugeo’s. It was calming. I hadn’t realized that we could sense unborn babies as well. I selfishly hold onto the connection for as long as I could, sending a silent will out towards our child to say that I was coming. I staggered back away from the pedestal. Kizmel caught me to keep me from falling over. I mumbled a thanks and didn’t protest as she sat me down on the bench.

“They’re on the tenth floor,” I said. “It’s going to be a long trip, and even then, I’m sure that’s the palace location. Which means it will be hard to get inside.”

Kizmel shook her head.

“Not if we climb the wall,” she said. “The exit at the base of this dungeon will lead us to the exterior of Aincrad. We can climb the wall up to the tenth floor and enter that way. No one will suspect it.”

I wasn’t so sure that I’d heard her right at first. Climbing the outer wall of Aincrad was suicide. One slip and you’d fall into the clouds, likely dying of heart failure before you ever hit the ground and were crushed by the impact. The thought was slightly terrifying, though I had to admit to myself that the experience sounded thrilling. It was a brilliant plan—provided you didn’t fall. I nodded to her. There was no other way. Fighting through a mob of angry forest elves with only one sword was somehow sounding riskier than scaling ten floors of Aincrad.

After a short break, we got back up and started descending through the dungeon once more. The lower parts seemed a lot more vacant than the upper parts, and it was significantly colder than one would expect from an underground passage. I supposed the wind buffeting the lower regions of the floating castle made it cooler by entering through the exit down at the bottom. As we walked, I rubbed my arms, trying to keep myself warm.

“I regret not taking full advantage of our break back there,” I grumbled.

Kizmel stopped and held the torch up to my face.

“Do you need to relieve yourself?” she asked.

Frowning, I ignored my protesting gut. She might have been right, but there was nowhere obvious to take care of that issue. I shook my head and pulled my arms in closer.

“I won’t watch,” she said.

I groaned.

“The issue isn’t you possibly seeing my—”

My voice was cut off by a low, unpleasant rumbling sound. Kizmel looked at my stomach.

“That wasn’t me!” I protested.

She opened her mouth to probably ask me if I was lying when the noise happened a second time. We locked eyes for a moment and then turned to look back where we’d come from. A wind came up from that direction, chilling us even more than before and snuffing out our torch so that we were trapped in total darkness. Kizmel reached out and grasped my arm firmly. She leaned over to my ear and whispered a single word.

“Run.”

Her hand was no longer holding my arm. She flew down the passage ahead of me, as quietly as ever. I tripped over my own feet and tore after her, forgetting the need to take a quick break for any sort of reason. If Kizmel was running from something, then I wasn’t sticking around to find out what the hell it was. My steps were significantly louder than Kizmel’s were, but I was more concerned with speed. The thing headed this way was likely already aware of our presences. There was nothing that could be done about that. I tried squinting to see if I could see how far ahead Kizmel was. A figure several lengths ahead of me was speeding downwards.

“I really hope there’s an exit…” I muttered.

The air started to feel colder as I ran. I hoped that this meant the exit was getting closer. The lighting in the tunnel improved as we went as well, though I couldn’t tell if it was my eyes adjusting to their dark vision mode or if it was actually getting lighter in here. When my eyes rested on a speck of white in the distance, I knew that it was the latter. I felt my spirits lift. If that was the exit, then we’d be able to get out before whatever it was behind us caught up to us. I put a little jump into my step.

“We’re gonna make it!” I exclaimed.

Kizmel’s head snapped back in my direction, a finger being held to her lips to shush me. It was too late, though. A roar sounded behind us, and the wind picked up with such force that we were both knocked down to our faces. The cobblestone ground scraped against my exposed skin, ripping open the top layer. I felt the sting of the scrapes as well as the bite of the cold air against the exposed wounds. I lifted my head up and glanced between Kizmel and the exit. She was slowly picking herself up. If I left her here, I could probably sprint to the exit. But I didn’t want to leave her, and she seemed to be having trouble getting up. I crawled over to her and touched her arm.

“Are you injured?” I asked.

Biting her lip, she looked down at her ankle. I saw that it was twisted unnaturally. Sucking in a breath, I grasped one of her arms and threw it over my shoulder, hoping that the creature wouldn’t catch up to us before we had a chance to get outside. But a new problem had arisen; she couldn’t climb with a twisted or broken ankle. I felt indecision fill my belly. I started for the exit. If anything, I hoped that this thing wasn’t too fond of the outside world, otherwise it would have left the dungeons ages ago.

“Kirito, it’s no use…” she gasped. “Leave me behind. Go save the princess.”

I shook my head.

“I’m not leaving you behind!” I said. “You’re my mentor and my friend! No way in hell am I leaving you here to die!”

She shook her head.

“If you die, then who’s going to go and save Asuna and your child?” she asked. “Leave me. I’ll be reunited with Tilnel. I’ll be alright.”

I wanted to scream at her. Did she really think so little of her life? I wasn’t so callous as to abandon my friends just to save Asuna. I’d said I would fight anyone who threatened Asuna—not those who slowed me down while they were trying to help me. I tried to pick up my pace. The exit was just a few more paces. Ten more. Seven more. Four more.

Something large swung over our heads. Instinctively, I dropped us both down to the ground and looked back up to see rocks falling in front of the exit. We were trapped in here with whatever had just taken that swing. I swallowed and looked up. The creature hovering over me was shrouded in black, blending into the darkness. As my eyes adjusted, the massive form became more apparent. A creature with skeletal hands and dimly glowing eyes glared down at me. Its bone fingers wrapped around a smooth, metal rod that had a curved blade attached to the top of it. It opened its jaw wide and screeched at us, making a high-pitched sound that made my eardrums burst. I felt a bit of warm liquid start to trickle out of my left ear. I reached up and touched it, then brought it in front of my face.

Blood.

I looked over at Kizmel. She was covering her ears. She said something to me, but it sounded strangely muffled. I looked at her lips as she spoke, and then I pulled the sword off of her hip and got up to face the monster behind us. I swallowed and gripped the hilt. The sword was way too light for my taste, but this was all I had. I let my lips curl up into a slightly cocky grin, likely in an effort to feel a little more confident about my chances.

“So,” I said, “we finally meet, Scythe.”


End file.
